Fabricio Andrade may not be fighting this weekend, but he’ll certainly have his eyes on the event. At ONE Fight Night 18: Gasanov vs. Oh this Friday, January 12, three bantamweight MMA bouts are set to go down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
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Among them will be #4-ranked Artem Belakh against the surging Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu. This could easily shake up the divisional rankings. Always a student of the game, ‘Wonder Boy’ has watched both fighters, as he believes either of them could soon rise to challenge his reign as World Champion.
Fabricio Andrade about the upcoming Belakh vs. Baatarkhuu fight
In an interview with ONE Championship, Andrade offered his thoughts on the matchup and said it could be a good opportunity for Belakh to bounce back. “I believe this is a very good fight for Artem Belakh. Even though he is coming off a defeat and also recovering from an injury, I think this is a good fight for him,” he said.
“Enkh-Orgil is no longer at his best. Even though he’s coming off good victories. He’s older, and I don’t think he’s that dangerous.” Belakh arrived in the world’s largest martial arts organization with an 8-1 record, and he impressed with a dominant performance against ONE veteran Leandro Issa in his promotional bow at ONE 162 in October 2022.
Andrade predicts the winner of the fight
That win helped the Russian star break into the divisional rankings. But he suffered a crushing loss to Kwon Won Il in his next outing at ONE Fight Night 11 last June, so he’ll be out to show his dominance against Baatarkhuu.
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However, the streaking Mongolian star will be hungry to break into the bantamweight MMA division’s top five himself. He is riding a three-bout run of wins in ONE Championship, and he shouldn’t be overlooked in any way, according to Andrade.
“Of course, Enkh-Orgil has already shown that he cannot be underestimated. In the last fight, he faced a very young opponent, who was in a good moment, and he managed to finish the fight,” he said.
While he believes both fighters have their strengths, the reigning divisional king did make a call on who he thinks will win, and he offered his pick a path to victory.
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“Artem has to be smart. He has more quality, and if he fights intelligently, he will have a better chance of winning this fight,” Andrade said. Do you agree with him? Let us know in the comments below.