KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 ― Life has thrown it’s fair share of challenges towards Malaysia’s mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Saiful Merican, but all of the hardships has help shaped him into the fighter he is today.

The 28-year-old fighter dubbed “The Vampire” from Kuala Terengganu overcame various challenges throughout his 17-year fighting career and despite defeats and setbacks he has always returned stronger — his last victory against Filipino Bernard Soriano at Stadium Negara came after a first round knockout to Geje Eustaquio.

Growing up together with eight siblings, Saiful’s daily routine as a youngster was similar to every “kampung boy” — he played football, spent time playing games with his friends, but it all changed when he was about 10 years old.

“A close friend of mine came up to me one day and said ‘Bro, you’ve got to check this out, this guy is brutal!’”.

Saiful and his friend headed back to his home and played the videotape. It was a video of one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters, Samart Payakaroon.

“When I first saw it, I was amazed, what this guy could do in a small ring was out of this world, I found a new hero. I wanted to be just like him,”said Saiful.

A year later, he competed in his first professional fight at just 11 years old, which resulted in a draw.

“A draw was not enough for me. So I and my friend decided to receive more training in Thailand.

“We travelled back and forth for about a year to learn more about the martial art. We trained with a local from 6am to 10am every day.

“Quit? We couldn’t! He sent his dog after us to make sure we kept on running,” he said.

While growing up as a teenager, Saiful had to balance between studies and training, something he practises until today.

“Now I have a family, my gym, my fighting career. The most important thing is having a proper schedule because I don’t believe in not having time, there’s always time, it’s how you arrange it,” said the fighter who’s currently attached to ONE Championship.

Upon graduating from high school he knew he needed money, and he did everything — from working in a factory to building houses — saving up whatever he could, and spending some of it on training.

In 2008, a 20-year-old Saiful had to deal with his first major setback — his father’s death.

Sad? Definitely. But Saiful kept his father’s advice close to him in every decision he made.

“My father wanted me to have a job, he thought martial arts wouldn’t earn me a proper living. For a year, I just worked without training.

In 2009, Saiful made his return, competing in a World Muay Thai Association bout in China — and it was then his fame slowly started to grow. 

A year later, he and his wife Dzianti opened up Merican Muay Thai Gym in Mont Kiara, and in 2012 ONE Championship CEO Victor Cui offered him a chance to test his mettle in MMA.

He made his debut in February 2013 against fellow countrymen Gianni Subba — a fight which he lost via submission.

He watched the replay and he knew he was lacking something — a combination of martial arts.

“I only trained Muay Thai, that was my biggest mistake. In MMA, you need to have various skills, and only then I slowly practised Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling which helped me improve my ground game.”

Saiful takes on China’s Chen Lei in Macao on August 5 at ONE: Kings & Conquerors and he’s well prepared with the fight about two weeks away.

“I’ve been training six hours a day. Let’s give a good show to the people in Macao,” he said.