Whilst he may not have come home with the bantamweight gold last time out, ‘Wonder Boy’ Fabricio Andrade has been receiving championship-level praise as of late.
Despite landing low to the groin of John Lineker, forcing the fight to be called off due to an unintentional foul, Andrade impressed everyone watching at ONE on Prime Video 3. In the toughest test of his career to date, ‘Wonder Boy’ rose to the occasion and proved all of his pre-fight predictions to be correct.
In a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson and long-running UFC color commentator Joe Rogan praised his performance.
Now, speaking to SCMP MMA, Fabricio Andrade described how it feels to be talked about by the biggest names in the sport:
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“It’s like all my dreams are coming true. I mentalized doing all this stuff. I mentalized all those guys talking about me. Those guys are like people that I watch for a long time. I have a lot of respect for them. It’s amazing to have them speaking about me like that.”
Watch the full interview below:
Whilst the bantamweight division may now be left without a champion following the no contest result, Andrade has emerged as the most exciting contender after his display against a dangerous veteran like John Lineker.
Make no mistake about it, ‘Wonder Boy’ will have his second shot at becoming a world champion in the near future.
Fabricio Andrade says he "didn’t show everything" he was capable of against John Lineker
‘Wonder Boy’ Fabricio Andrade proved all of his doubters wrong at ONE on Prime Video 3 and impressed everyone who had tuned in.
With the potential for a rematch between him and John Lineker after their fight ended in a no contest, Andrade has been working away to try and improve upon his performance last time out. The Brazilian already blew away people's expectations with how he delivered on his pre-fight promises.
In a recent interview with The MMA Superfan, the No.1-ranked bantamweight contender spoke about his performance against Lineker:
“It was a great fight. I knew I was going to win the fight, one hundred percent. I was already about to knock him out. I don’t think I showed all my skills. I didn’t show everything that I’m capable of. I’m excited to get a second chance to fight him again.”
Catch the interview below:
Whilst Andrade doesn’t believe he got to show his whole game, in his defense, the fight came to a sudden unsatisfying halt. What he did get to show, though, was impressive enough.
Whilst no official announcement has been released regarding a rematch, Fabricio Andrade took to Instagram to post about him now being the number one bantamweight contender and therefore the uncrowned champion.