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Andrew Whitelaw

Fabricio Andrade has spent years building his reputation as one of the most dangerous bantamweights in mixed martial arts. Beautiful striking and a sharp fight IQ have carried the Brazilian to the top of the division. But ahead of ONE Fight Night 38 in Bangkok next month, Andrade believes this title defence offers something different: it gives him the chance to silence anyone who still doubts his grappling.
“A lot of people still question my grappling,” Andrade said. “They think if I fight a wrestler I will get taken down. I think with this fight I can answer a lot of questions.”
His opponent, Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu, goes into his first title shot on the back of three straight wins, two of which were from submissions, and Andrade respects the threat he poses.
“He is tough,” Andrade said. “He lost once to my teammate Artem Belakh, but he came back with good wins. He is very experienced.”
The match-up on December 6 comes after a long camp centred on sharpening skills that many casual fans still overlook. Andrade said he had been preparing for this opponent for a long time, working on distance management, grappling scrambles and defensive reactions.

“I have been working a lot and developing my skills,” he said. “It does not matter if I do not have a fight booked. I train and try to get better.”
Training in Brazil had become more frequent for Andrade after spending most of his career abroad. He now splits his time between Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand and Fighting Nerds in São Paulo, where the focus was heavily technical. The champion credited the approach for a noticeable leap in his performance.
“My distance got way better,” he said. “It makes me more dangerous because it is harder to take someone down when you cannot find the distance. In striking I can hit and get back without taking damage.”
He added that the gym put a strong emphasis on tape study and structured game plans.


“They analyse a lot of fights. This time I had everything clear. I have to do this, then this and then this. It helped a lot for this camp.”
Outside the tactical side of fighting, Andrade had also become more measured in how he trained physically. Earlier in his career, he sparred relentlessly, often going from one hard session straight into another.
“I was just trying to prove myself,” he said. “Now I see it is not smart. You can get injured very easy. You are only learning to be tough, not improving your game.”
Today he prioritised recovery through ice baths, breath work, yoga, massage and regular sauna sessions. “Sauna is probably one of my addictions now,” he said. “It helps with stress, inflammation, everything.”
Looking at the fight itself, Andrade expected Baatarkhuu to follow a familiar pattern.
“He likes to get to the ropes and take you down,” Andrade said. “For me, I need to defend his takedowns and after that I do what I do. I am always thinking about the body. When someone gets tired, body shots slowly kill you and eventually you get knocked out.”

The Brazilian was also aware that the wider bantamweight division needed more momentum. While Muay Thai and kickboxing had enjoyed a run of high-profile moments, MMA had not always kept pace. Andrade wanted activity, he said. He wanted contenders.
“There are a lot of guys in the top five and top 10 who need to fight each other,” he said. “If this happens, we will have a lot of contenders.”
He had hoped to compete at ONE 173 in Tokyo but was moved to Bangkok instead. “I wanted to fight in Japan. It is a country most people want to fight in. But when they changed, I thought at least I am the main event.”
For now, he was determined to make the most of it. If he manages to get a strong win in Bangkok, it would move him closer to the matchups fans wanted, including a potential future showdown with Jonathan Haggerty once the British fighter recovered from his injury.
“I want to fight as soon as I can,” he said. “After this fight I will try to get on the Tokyo card at ONE 175.”
Always composed, always calculating, Andrade carries the quiet confidence of a champion who understands exactly where he stands.
“I feel I am there with the best in the world,” he said. “There are people I still have to beat, but I am there.”


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ONE Championship: Fabricio Andrade ready to ‘answer a lot of questions’ in Bangkok

Fabricio Andrade will defend his bantamweight MMA world title in the main event at ONE Fight Night 38. Photo: ONE Championship

Fabricio Andrade (left) said he had been preparing for his opponent for a long time. Photo: Handout

Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu “likes to get to the ropes”, Andrade said. Photo: ONE Championship

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Sport

Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts

Ahead of ONE Fight Night 38 next month, Brazilian credits technical training at gym in São Paulo with improvements in his performance


Ahead of ONE Fight Night 38 next month, Brazilian credits technical training at gym in São Paulo with improvements in his performance.


Jonathan Haggerty

ONE Championship: Fabricio Andrade ready to ‘answer a lot of questions’ in Bangkok

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ahead of ONE Fight Night 38 next month, Brazilian credits technical training at gym in São Paulo with improvements in his performance

Ahead of ONE Fight Night 38 next month, Brazilian credits technical training at gym in São Paulo with improvements in his performance