Winning a ONE World Title was supposed to be the destination. For Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu, it turned out to be the starting point.
The Mongolian submitted Fabricio Andrade with a rear-naked choke at ONE Fight Night 38 last December to claim the bantamweight MMA crown, and before the ink was dry on his legacy, he was already mapping a path to a second belt.
The target is Tang Kai. The prize is the featherweight title. And for Baatarkhuu, the motivation runs deeper than hardware.
"All martial artists have a dream to become multi-division champions, right? For me, it's the same. Most importantly, I want to make history as the first-ever two-division Mongolian MMA World Champion. That is the biggest motivation for me to challenge Tang Kai for the featherweight belt," he said.
Tang will first defend his title against Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 43 on May 15, so any meeting with Baatarkhuu remains a future proposition. That hasn't stopped the Mongolian from running the tape. He sees a five-round war — one where his grappling pressure and durability become decisive factors against a finisher who has stopped 79 percent of his professional opponents.
"After Tang Kai and myself go inside the cage, I don't know what will happen. I don't know how the fight will end, whether that's by a knockout or submission. But what I am thinking in my mind, I see a five-round war. For me, there's a chance I can go the distance with him and beat him," he said.
While his ambitions point upward, Baatarkhuu is equally focused on who gets to challenge him at bantamweight. The two most credible names, Andrade and John Lineker, both come off recent losses, and the champion believes neither has earned an immediate shot.
His standard was shaped by his coach, former ONE featherweight title-holder Narantungalag Jadambaa, who fought for a belt three times and had to win at least twice more after each setback before being considered again.
"I know that holding the World Title — holding this golden belt — is a huge responsibility. I have major respect for my belt as well. My coach, Narantungalag Jadambaa, fought for a title shot three times. And every time he lost, he would have to win at least two more times before he could fight for the belt again. I do believe that the reason behind it is that whoever is willing to fight for the belt must win his last fight — at least one fight," he said.
His solution is straightforward: let Andrade and Lineker fight each other, and meet the winner.
"I am okay to fight whoever, but in my division, for example, Lineker, he lost his last fight. And Fabricio also lost to me. It was a rear-naked choke. It wasn't like a five-round decision. I would like to say that I'm ready to fight whoever deserves to fight me. But I think it is better for those two guys to face each other. Whoever wins can go against me, I'm ready to do that," he said.
Baatarkhuu expects Lineker to come through that hypothetical eliminator, and he's not hiding his respect for the Brazilian, even as he prepares to eventually dismantle him.
"I have a lot of respect for Lineker. He has been a champion before, and he's a really strong striker. Obviously, it's going to be a war, like what happened between Fabricio Andrade and myself. It's hard to tell who's tougher, though. The only way we will know is if we face each other," he said.
