Two of the three bouts that matter most at Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, July 31, involve men who have already beaten the same opponents. Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu, the ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion, got past Carlo Bumina-ang and Jeremy Pacatiw on his way to the belt. Elbek Alyshov, the challenger, submitted both of them as well, and faster.
The fight headlines The Inner Circle 24 in Bangkok, a four-fight card streaming live for members. It is Baatarkhuu’s first title defence.
The champion
Baatarkhuu is 14-3. Last December at ONE Fight Night 38 he beat Fabricio Andrade by submission, a finish that came right after he reached the final of Netflix’s Physical: Asia with Team Mongolia. He later met Mongolia’s president, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh. Fans know him as “The Tormentor,” and his stated target is featherweight champion Tang Kai, which would mean titles in two divisions.
The challenger
Alyshov, a 27-year-old Azerbaijani, is 10-0 and has ended nine of those fights inside the distance. Last August at ONE Fight Night 34 he caught Pacatiw in an arm-triangle choke. Three months on, at ONE Fight Night 37, he submitted Bumina-ang in the second round.
Combat Press called the matchup a test of experience against momentum. Experience, it said, favours the champion.
The rest of the card
Two 19-year-olds, Johan Ghazali and Ramadan Ondash, meet in a flyweight Muay Thai fight. They crossed paths on the amateur circuit but never fought, because they competed at different weights. Ondash moved up to flyweight, won his debut there and called Ghazali out, turning a friendship into a rivalry.
Abdallah Ondash, who lost on a narrow majority decision in 2024, gets a rematch with Lumpinee Stadium World Champion Chokpreecha PK TomTKalaiyont in a strawweight Muay Thai bout. Mexico’s Salvador Velazquez Villarello, a WBC National Champion, opens the night against Japan’s Asahi Shinagawa in his ONE debut.
Sources
- Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu to defend ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title against undefeated Elbek Alyshov at The Inner Circle 24
- The Inner Circle 24 Preview: Baatarkhuu Faces Unbeaten Alyshov in First Title Defense
- Baatarkhuu Defends ONE Title Against Unbeaten Alyshov
