“I pushed myself” - Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu says hard work led to world title victory over Fabricio Andrade

Mongolian star Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu realized his goal of becoming world champion after seizing the ONE bantamweight MMA championship belt earlier this month. He shared that it was a direct result of all the hard work he put in through the course of his martial arts journey.

The 36-year-old Khovd native dethroned Brazilian Fabricio Andrade as bantamweight MMA king at ONE Fight Night 38 on Dec. 5 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. He did it with a gutsy submission win by way of rear-naked choke in the fourth round of their scheduled five-round title match.

Baatarkhuu encountered early trouble but was able to handle it. As the match advanced, he got better hold of his game and started to make it tougher for 'Wonder Boy' with his solid jabs and straight rights as well as timely takedowns.

In the fourth canto, recognizing how Fabricio was spent from all the fending off he had to do, the Shanda MMA/Team Tungaa standout further pressed and moved for the finish. He pushed Andrade to the corner of the ring and took him down to the canvas.

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Andrade tried to stand up but along the way exposed his back, which Baatarkhuu took advantage of, landing strikes before taking his opponent's chin to employ a rear-naked choke. The referee called a stop to the contest moments later after Andrade tapped out.

The newly minted ONE bantamweight MMA world champion spoke to combat sports journalist Nick Atkin following his title conquest, sharing his thoughts on the journey he had to it.

Baatarkhuu said:

"Not everybody can have this kind of a great opportunity to fight against the best in the world for the title. It was a great opportunity, so I pushed myself so hard and I did everything I could to get the win."

Check out what he had to say below:

Making the win at ONE Fight Night 38 even sweeter was he was rewarded with a $50,000 performance bonus by ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

North American fans can catch the replay of all the action at ONE Fight Night 38 on demand via Amazon Prime Video.

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Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu gives props to fallen opponent Fabricio Andrade

While proud and happy of his latest accomplishment, Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu took the time to give props to Fabricio Andrade, highlighting the tough stand that the latter put up that made it difficult for him score the submission win.

He touched on it in the post-fight interview session, sharing how Andrade truly made him work hard through the course of their clash.

'The Tormentor' said:

"There's no word for me to explain how I feel now. It's incredible. Fabricio, you are so good. I'm so tired now."

The win at ONE Fight Night 38 was the fourth straight for Baatarkhuu and improved him to 7-1 in ONE Championship since coming on board the promotion in 2023.

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Edited by Aziel Karthak