Newly crowned ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu of Mongolia proved that nothing is impossible for those who work hard.
At ONE Fight Night 38, the 36-year-old veteran submitted Fabricio Andrade of Brazil via rear-naked choke to capture 26 pounds of gold and bring pride and glory to his country.
‘The Tormentor’ showed incredible will and heart, surviving an early knockdown scare and pulling off the emphatic victory in round 4 to improve his record to 14-3 and earn a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Speaking with Nick Atkin after his legacy-defining victory, Baatarkhuu reflected on the long road he paved to realize his lifelong dream.
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The Mongolian powerhouse also offered advice for those wishing to follow in his footsteps:
“So what I would like to tell people is, when you have hope in yourself, you still have to work so hard, and it takes time. For me, it took overall 25 years and nine years, high-level, championship-level training, as well.”
Baatarkhuu was also once a dreamer who simply wanted to be like his mentor, former ONE Featherweight Champion Narantungalag Jadambaa.
Watch the full interview:
Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu says he never doubted himself against Fabricio Andrade
Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu didn’t buy into his underdog label against Fabricio Andrade.
For the Mongolian powerhouse, no one is unbeatable inside the ring.
The new ONE bantamweight MMA world champion said in the same interview:
“Although people think that Fabricio has more chances, more percentage to win over myself, but I really did not consider or think about what other people think. Because, in my opinion, once you are inside the cage or the ring, it’s just two high-level athletes facing each other. So it’s 50/50 for each fighters on their chance of winning.”
The full replay of ONE Fight Night 38 is available to stream on Prime Video for North American fight fans.
Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim
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