“I made the division even more interesting” – Fabricio Andrade says he brought something special to ONE’s bantamweight MMA ranks

Looking back over recent years, it’s hard to argue that Fabricio Andrade, the ONE bantamweight world champion, hasn’t produced one of the most thrilling ascents to the top.

‘Wonder Boy’ debuted with ONE Championship in July 2020, and at ONE Fight Night 7 in February of last year, he was crowned the new world champion of the stacked division.

Many believed that his coronation was only a matter of time, given some of the performances he produced against top contenders.

His successive first-round finishes over Li Kai Wen, Jeremy Pacatiw, and Kwon Won Il, in particular, set the Brazilian into a category of his own.

And that’s not to mention his two incredible fights with Brazilian knockout specialist and ex-kingpin John Lineker that pushed him further than ever before, only for him to rise to the occasion.

Looking back on his run in the bantamweight MMA division, Andrade told ONE Championship that he believes the weight class has only benefited from the added excitement that he brings to the table:

“I also believe that with my arrival and by doing what I did, getting several knockouts and promoting the fights a lot, I made the division even more interesting.”

Fabricio Andrade will watch on as the bantamweight division gets heavily represented at ONE Fight Night 18

If there is one drawback to the incredible run of Fabricio Andrade, it’s that he tore through the division so efficiently that he now has to wait for other contenders to catch up.

At ONE Fight Night 18, three fights in the bantamweight division will likely shake up the pecking order considerably and could provide the champion with a new No.1-ranked contender.

His former opponent Kwon Won Il is back in action against Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg, having produced consecutive finishes since his loss to Andrade in 2022.

With several other names that may also be on his radar, with Artem Belakh taking on Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu and Mark Abelardo facing off with debuting Ibragim Dauev, Andrade will have plenty to think about on January 12.

ONE Fight Night 18 will air live and free in U.S. primetime for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription on January 12. Check your local listings for more details.