“Let’s put another guy in line for the title” - Fabricio Andrade wants different opponent for bantamweight belt

The highly-anticipated war between Fabricio Andrade and John Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3 had one of the most anticlimactic endings in a mixed martial arts world title fight.

After weathering Lineker’s ‘Hands of Stone’ in the second round, ‘Wonder Boy’ came back with a vengeance in the third by nearly ending the fight with one of his signature knees to the body.

However, right before Andrade was able to deliver the coup de grâce, Lineker called a time-out and cried foul, claiming the follow-up knee hit him below the belt. A heavily-compromised Lineker could not carry on, and the fight was ruled a no-contest at the 2:44 mark of round three.

Lineker was already stripped of his ONE bantamweight world title before the match due to missing weight. Andrade, who was clearly winning the fight up to that point, also failed to secure the gold strap due to the NC verdict.

Given the extremely controversial nature of the bout, many pundits believe that an immediate rematch is the only way to go. Fabricio Andrade, though, now believes otherwise.

After composing himself from that disappointing ending, the Tiger Muay Thai standout broke his silence in a revealing post-fight statement. While ‘Wonder Boy’ doesn’t mind teaching Lineker another lesson, he thinks Lineker no longer deserves a shot at the vacant 145-pound belt after his failure to get past the scales yet again.

“He was not what I expected. I was pushing, trying to finish him all the fight. I can rematch him anytime. I want to be active. I want to fight as soon as possible. And I don’t think this guy wants a rematch with me. Maybe, let’s put another guy in line for the title because he couldn’t even make weight. So now the title is vacated.”

Watch Fabricio Andrade’s full statement here:

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Fabricio Andrade says John Lineker "gave up" on the fight

After feeling his wrath for two and a half rounds, Fabricio Andrade is convinced that John Lineker no longer wants anything to do with him inside the circle. As he sees it, ‘Hands of Stone’ would have soldiered on and continued to fight after that inadvertent knee, if he had a true warrior’s spirit. ‘Wonder Boy’ said in the same statement:

“The guy has been running from me for a long time. He came here, he doesn’t make weight. And now he gave up on the fight like that. It’s frustrating for me, you know? I’m really frustrated right now.”

While Fabricio Andrade thinks Lineker is undeserving of an instant shot to reclaim the now-vacant 145-pound throne, he made it clear that he’s ready to fight him again at a moment’s notice.

The No.2 ranked bantamweight fighter, after all, only had some mild swelling on his face and mouth after the fight. Lineker, on the other hand, was left with a gruesome hematoma below his right eye after taking Andrade’s swift jabs and precise combinations. 'Wonder Boy' added:

“I don’t believe he wants to face me again. If he wants a rematch, I can rematch him anytime. You can see, I’m fresh. I took no damage in this fight.”