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“My family was really impoverished” – How martial arts gave Banma Duoji a new life

Banma “The Prince” Duoji possesses all the comprehensive skills and natural athleticism needed to take ONE’s talent-packed MMA flyweight division by storm.

At ONE Fight Night 25: Nicolas vs. Eersel II on Prime Video, the Chinese sensation will look to continue his climb toward division gold when he takes on action-packed brawler “Mini T” Danial Williams in a decisive MMA bout at the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

This competition will air live in primetime in the U.S. on Friday, October 4th and is Banma's chance to score his second consecutive win on ONE and continue to assert himself as a contender on the global stage.

Ahead of this highly anticipated duel, we take a closer look at the 27-year-old's path to the largest martial arts organization in the world.

“I was small and weak”

Born in China's Sichuan province, Banma grew up in a single-parent household. He remembers being short in stature and often bullied at school, but he was lucky to have his older brother around to protect him.

“The Prince” spoke to onefc.com about his childhood:

“Although my biological father abandoned me when I was born, I was lucky to have a mother, big brother and sister who love me. I was small and weak during my childhood, so my big brother always stood up to protect me when the others bullied me.”

As a teenager, Banma struggled in school, both academically and socially. He admits that he was never a good student, but he was made even more difficult by the bullies and fist fights he often got involved in.

Fortunately, the school's principal realized that Banma could not succeed in a traditional academic environment and encouraged him to join the Enbo Fight Club – a place where impoverished youth can live while learning martial arts:

“I often argued with others at school. The principal asked me to come to his office to talk. He said it was very rude if I always preferred to fight rather than use my words. But I am very grateful to him because he introduced me to the Enbo Fight Club.”

MMA as a career

Joining Enbo Fight Club turned out to be the most important decision in Banma’s life.

Even before he left school to pursue martial arts training, he was inspired by his older brother and had a keen interest in learning the skills of hand-to-hand combat:

“As I mentioned before, my older brother fought for my safety when I was a little kid. I always believed that winning in fights would protect me from bullying. Maybe that's why I started taking martial arts classes.”

Banma is young, energetic and naturally athletic. He began practicing Sanda at the age of ten, and had his first fight at the age of twelve. He soon tried grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, falling more and more in love with the martial arts as his life path began to take shape.

At the age of 16, he won his first amateur MMA fight and hasn’t looked back since:

“After I won my first fight, I realized I wanted to do mixed martial arts for the rest of my life because I really enjoyed the feeling of victory.”

Escaping poverty

If winning was his driving force, “The Prince” has experienced plenty of it in his fighting career. He boasts a professional MMA record of 15-2 with a near-perfect finish rate, establishing himself as one of China's most talented young stars.

Of course, his rise to the elite was not without adversity. Looking back, Banma said the most difficult time of his life was those early days when his family struggled to put food on the table and make ends meet:

“When I was very young, my family was really impoverished. My mother was the only one who could work and earn money at first. My older brother left school to work when he grew up. When I learned that Enbo Fight Club could offer free accommodation as well as free food, I jumped at the chance to join to ease the financial pressure on my family.”

In fact, Banma's move to Enbo Fight Club not only eased his mother's financial burden, but also brought him into contact with the gym's owner, Enbo.

“The Prince” said that Enbo was much more than just a coach – he was the father figure he so desperately needed:

“The most important person is my godfather – Enbo. Whether on a material or spiritual level, he helps me change my life. I consider him my father in a way.”

China represented in ONE

Now, as he prepares for his third appearance in the ONE spotlight, Banma has dispelled any doubts that he is one of the best martial artists in the world.

Because of his Sanda background, “The Prince” was attracted to ONE because of the best strikers in the world:

“ONE has many top strikers around the world. I want to challenge myself.”

Of course, Banma's main goal at ONE is to win 26 pounds of gold – and his fight with “Mini T” at ONE Fight Night 25 will be a crucial step on that path.

But beyond his ambitions to become a world champion, he hopes to showcase the power of Chinese martial arts on ONE's massive global platform.

He talked about how important it is for him to represent China well:

“This is very important to me. I hope I can show people all over the world how powerful China is.”

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