“He was retreating a lot” - Fabricio Andrade had to ‘change strategy’ against ‘very cautious’ John Lineker

Brazil's Fabricio Andrade is happy with his performance against John Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3. The 25-year-old 'Wonder Boy' peppered the former champion with hard shots and pushed the MMA veteran back.

Regarding how the fight went, Andrade explained in an interview with ONE Championship:

“The fight went almost as I expected. I actually expected Lineker to be more aggressive, but he was very cautious. He respected me a lot, he respected my fighting style. He was retreating a lot and waiting for me to attack. I confess that I expected a more aggressive fighter, so I had to change my strategy a bit.”

Due to landing hard jabs and knees to the body, 'Hands of Stone' was not as aggressive as he normally was. The fighters traded on the feet during this main event showdown, with Lineker securing takedowns during the match.

The fight, unfortunately, ended after an accidental knee to the groin from Andrade stopped 'Hands of Stone'. The strike was so strong, in fact, that it shattered Lineker's cup. Officially, this was declared a no contest.

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Christian Lee says Fabricio Andrade was beating John Lineker

'Wonder Boy' Fabricio Andrade was happy with his performance against 'Hands of Stone' John Lineker. The lightweight king Christian Lee agreed with the Brazilian's assessment and said that he was winning the bout before it ended.

While speaking to The MMA Super-Fan, Lee explained:

“I thought Fabricio Andrade put on an amazing performance. He was looking really sharp out there. He definitely showed that he was the better fighter that night. It’s unfortunate whenever a fight ends in controversy, but if it didn’t end in that fashion and the fight would have continued, I definitely think he would have gotten the finish that night.”

'The Warrior' Christian Lee added that he thought Andrade would have won via stoppage if the fight continued. Furthermore, he understands the frustration of a bout ending in such an unsatisfying way:

“But if the fight had continued, absolutely, Andrade would have finished the fight over there. For myself, it’s extremely frustrating. In my fight against Edward Kelly, I brought my opponent down to the ground and finished with legal strikes and then it was disqualified. So I understand how frustrating that would feel.”

Catch the interview below: