Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu is the reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion, and his first defense is a tough one. On Friday, July 31, the Mongolian champion known as “The Tormentor” faces Elbek Alyshov, an undefeated Azerbaijani, in the main event of The Inner Circle 24 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. The card streams live on live.onefc.com.
Baatarkhuu, 36, won the belt last December at ONE Fight Night 38 with a submission finish of former champion Fabricio Andrade. Before that he beat Carlo Bumina-ang, Aaron Canarte and Jeremy Pacatiw in a row. His 2025 also included a run to the final of Netflix’s reality competition Physical: Asia with Team Mongolia, and a meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh.
Alyshov is 27 and carries a 10-0 record with nine finishes, a 90 percent finishing rate. He has been in ONE only a short time and has already stopped two of the men Baatarkhuu beat. In August, at ONE Fight Night 34, he forced Pacatiw to tap with an arm-triangle choke. Three months later, at ONE Fight Night 37, he submitted Bumina-ang in the second round.
For Baatarkhuu there is more riding on it than one belt. A win keeps alive his hope of going for two-division gold against reigning ONE featherweight MMA champion Tang Kai. A loss would end his reign after a single defense.
The card also has a grudge match between former friends Johan Ghazali and Ramadan Ondash, both 19-year-old flyweight Muay Thai prospects.
Sources
- Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu To Defend Bantamweight MMA World Title Against Undefeated Elbek Alyshov At The Inner Circle 24
- Baatarkhuu Defends ONE Title Against Unbeaten Alyshov
