Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu Shuts Down Fabricio Andrade, Captures The ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title
In a stunning upset that crowned Mongolia’s second MMA World Champion, “The Tormentor” Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu dethroned Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade with a rear-naked choke submission in the fourth round to capture the ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title.
The 36-year-old Baatarkhuu, who is fresh off his appearance on Netflix’s Physical: Asia, followed in the footsteps of his mentor and coach, former ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Narantungalag Jadambaa, to achieve his dream of bringing World Title gold back to the “Country of Blue Skies.”
Baatarkhuu entered the ONE Fight Night 38 main event battle at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, December 5, as the #4-ranked divisional contender with something to prove.
The opening round saw both fighters spend considerable time in the clinch exchanging dirty boxing, with neither pulling too far ahead. But Baatarkhuu managed to land a spinning back kick that caught Andrade’s attention as the frame remained competitive.
Round two proved exceptional for the Mongolian challenger. He outstruck Andrade with punches from the outside and then dragged the defending ONE World Champion down to the mat twice. On the second occasion, Baatarkhuu locked up a D’Arce choke in the dying seconds of the frame, but the Brazilian survived to hear the bell.
In the third stanza, Andrade finally looked like his old form with crisp striking from the outside. But it was short-lived. Baatarkhuu scored another takedown and hunted for submissions while pummeling “Wonder Boy” with ground-and-pound.
Baatarkhuu came out aggressively in round four and buried Andrade into the corner of the ring. He took him down and continued hunting for submissions. Then, when the 28-year-old Brazilian gave up his back, “The Tormentor” unloaded more devastating ground strikes.
As Andrade tried to defend, he exposed his neck. Baatarkhuu seized the opportunity like a python and sunk in a rear-naked choke, squeezing the tap from his foe at 1:33 of the fourth round.
The victory improved Baatarkhuu’s career record to 14-3, crowned him the new ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion, and cemented a legendary moment in Mongolia’s martial arts history.
To make matters even better, he also bagged a US$50,000 performance bonus from ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
