Fabricio Andrade recalls training with Team Vasileus early on in career: "You had to stay in front of each other and just bang"

Fabricio Andrade's brief visit to Team Vasileus in Japan years ago left a lasting impression, witnessing some of the sport's most aggressive strikers train in cramped quarters.

The reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion defends his crown against Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu at ONE Fight Night 38 on Friday, Dec. 5, inside Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium.

During his interview with the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the 28-year-old Brazilian recalled his time visiting Team Vasileus, where he got to witness elite Japanese strikers like Takeru, Masaaki Noiri, and Yuki Yoza train in limited space.

"You cannot move. There's no space really. Now I don't know the new place I haven't been, but the old place you couldn't move. You had to stay in front of each other and just bang, you know," Fabricio Andrade shared.

"But that aggressiveness is kind of their style. I think the Chinese and the Japanese, you know, they like to, especially when they fight in kickboxing, they like to go for it, you know. Stay in front of each other and just go. And before, when I fought in China, I also felt like that. They just didn't have a proper game plan or strategy, you know. They just wanted to fight."

Watch Andrade's full interview with the South China Morning Post here:

That brief glimpse into Team Vasileus' training culture stuck with Fabricio Andrade for good reason.

Watching fighters like Takeru – K-1's biggest star, who recently put Denis Puric to sleep at ONE 173 – and Yoza, who just dominated Superlek Kiatmoo9 on the same Tokyo card, put the pedal to the metal in cramped training spaces, revealed why Japanese strikers thrive when trading leather during in-your-face exchanges.

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Fabricio Andrade ready to overcome Baatarkhuu's mastery on the canvas at ONE Fight Night 38

Fabricio Andrade loves nothing more than a highlight-reel moment, and he has his eyes set on adding another one to his insane gallery that includes four first-round finishes against Kwon Won Il (twice), Li Kai Wen, and Jeremy Pacatiw.

That said, 'Wonder Boy' knows that for him to set up another spectacular match-winning moment, he'd have to overcome the No.4-ranked challenger's attempts to take the fight to the canvas.

"For me, I just need to defend his takedowns, and after that, I do what I do, you know. This is natural for me," he told SCMP in the same interview.

ONE Fight Night 38: Andrade vs. Baatarkhuu will be available live in U.S. primetime for free to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.