Hartati "Thathi" Lumban Gaol (Courtesy of ONE Championship)

Indonesian women’s atomweight mixed martial arts fighter Priscilla “Thathi” Hertati Lumban Gaol believes that fighting in front of her home crowd will boost her morale, which she will need when facing Bozhena “Toto” Antoniyar of Myanmar.

Thathi is slated to meet Bozhena at Istora Senayan on Oct. 25 at an event dubbed ONE: Dawn of Valor.

She acknowledged that the upcoming bout would be a crucial contest to determine the next possible contenders for the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship.

“Competing in Jakarta is always something I look forward to. It’s always good to compete at home,” said the 31-year-old based in Jakarta.

“I know that a lot of my family will be there to support me and cheer me on, which is always a good thing.”

More importantly, she promises to give the hometown fans a performance to remember.

“Of course, there’s always more for me to show. What I can promise the fans in Jakarta is that I will give my best performance come Oct. 25,” said Thathi.

Thathi is coming off an impressive win over Nou Srey Pov, and a win over Antoniyar will make it two straight wins and four in the last five, which she hopes can finally propel her to contender status.

“Hopefully, if I can be impressive enough in victory, it will be enough for me to be considered as a top contender in the atomweight division,” she explained.

Before thinking about a title shot however, Thathi will need to get past a dangerous striker in Antoniyar.

Bozhena Antoniyar is a really good fighter. From what I know, she’s a dangerous striker, she’s a great boxer from her country of Myanmar, so I really have to be careful of her hands,” Thathi said.

Given that she’s also savvy with strikes, Thathi believes that the fans will be in for a treat when she and her opponent enter the Circle.

“Obviously, her strength will be her striking, but I know that I can hang with her there, we’re both talented strikers, so that’s going to make for an exciting matchup between the two of us,” she concluded.

Considered as one of the talented newcomers in the mixed martial art arena, Thathi used to be a wushu athlete. She left wushu following her disappointment with the West Java 2016 National Games. Thathi, who represented Jakarta, questioned the decision that had brought victory to her opponent as she was convinced she should have won the second round.

“My career in wushu was doomed, so I started a new career by training myself in a new skill,” she said.

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