Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu just authored the final chapter to the greatest year of his life at ONE Fight Night 38.
In the early hours of Saturday morning at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, the 36-year-old upset Brazilian kingpin Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade to capture the ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title.
The feat comes 11 years after Baatarkhuu’s coach and mentor, Narantungalag Jadambaa, became the first Mongolian to win a ONE Championship belt.
It was far from easy, however.
Baatarkhuu’s strategy was very apparent from the opening bell: utilise punches to close the distance on the taller Brazilian striker, take him down, and punish him on the canvas. He deployed that game plan from the jump, but Andrade – who had never lost an MMA fight during his five-and-a-half year run in ONE Championship – was determined to keep the battle upright so he could hammer the challenger with his lethal punches, kicks, and knees, which have felled many men.
In the first two rounds, the Brazilian kept stabbing Baatarkhuu’s face with the jab, and when the duo were tied up in the clinch, he stung him with short elbows to the head and knees to the body.
The damage may have shown on the Mongolian’s face, but there was absolutely nothing Andrade could do to stop him. Baatarkhuu walked through the shots and started hitting his takedowns as the match progressed. In the final minute of the second frame, “The Tormentor” brought him to the canvas with a body lock and worked his way to a D’Arce choke, but the Fortaleza native was saved by the bell.
The pair traded more strikes in the third stanza, but at the midway point of the round, Baatarkhuu hit a single-leg takedown. They kept scrambling and exchanging positions, but again, in the final 60 seconds of the round, the Mongolian made life miserable for the defending champ – he threatened with a guillotine choke, transitioned to full-mount, went for a kimura, and then ended the period with ground-and-pound.
Despite having a bloodied and swollen face, Baatarkhuu somehow seemed to be getting stronger. An exhausted Andrade pumped out the jab some more in the fourth, but “The Tormentor” closed the distance, tied him up, and took him down in the corner. Baatarkhuu’s smothering pressure was simply too much, as he was able to fish for a rear-naked choke and force Andrade to tap out for the first time in his ONE Championship career.
With the victory, Baatarkhuu became the second Mongolian to win an MMA World Title and to make the occasion even sweeter, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong gave him a US$50,000 performance bonus.
‘Baby Shark’ Overwhelms Yonekura, Wins Submission Grappling Gold
That wasn’t the only new king who was crowned at ONE Fight Night 38.
Diogo “Baby Shark” Reis dominated Japanese sensation Daiki Yonekura to claim the vacant ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title.
The 23-year-old Brazilian dictated the pace from the start, as he energetically pressed forward, jumped into his rival’s guard, applied top pressure, and threatened with multiple submission attempts, especially the arm-triangle choke.
Yonekura was constantly defending for the majority of the contest, barely getting a chance to breathe or even mount any offense of his own. In the final two minutes of the contest, the tide changed slightly – the two attacked with kneebars, toe-holds, and ankle locks.
But when time ran out in the 10-minute match, Reis’ aggression earned him a unanimous decision from the judges and the ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title.
