“Back to where I was before” – Fabricio Andrade wants to rediscover killer instinct that took him to the top

Fabricio Andrade’s defeat to Jonathan Haggerty last year has motivated him to be at his very best when he returns at some point in 2024.

After scaling to the top of the bantamweight MMA division with a TKO of John Lineker at ONE Fight Night 7 in February last year, ‘Wonder Boy’ returned for his sophomore outing of 2023 against Jonathan Haggerty for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing world title.

With confidence from his ONE bantamweight MMA world title triumph, the Fortaleza native vowed to end Haggerty’s winning streak and punch his ticket to two-sport glory.

Unfortunately, for the first time in his promotional tenure, the 26-year-old failed to walk the talk. ‘The General’ sent him crashing to the canvas in round two of their main event meeting at ONE Fight Night 16 inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

But oftentimes, defeats only spur a fighter onto greater heights – and that is the mindset that Fabricio Andrade wants to bring when he steps inside the circle in 2024.

In an exclusive interview, he told Sportskeeda MMA:

“When I’m healthy, when I’m strong, I’m going to be back to where I was before. Not the guy who finished Lineker, but the fighter you guys saw defeat and knock people out before I fought for the world title.”

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Fabricio Andrade’s perfect run that took him to stardom in ONE Championship

The entire bantamweight division should be on notice if Fabricio Andrade can rediscover his form of old that took him to his first-ever MMA world title shot in October 2022.

The Evolve MMA and Tiger Muay Thai representative went on a five-match winning streak from July 2020 to June 2022, with highlight-reel finishes of Mark Abelardo, Li Kai Wen, Jeremy Pacatiw, and Kwon Won Il.

After putting ‘Pretty Boy’ from South Korea to sleep, the Brazilian confidently declared himself as the "uncrowned king of the division," aiming at then-divisional kingpin John Lineker.

As for Fabricio Andrade's next fight, many are expecting a trilogy clash against ‘Hands of Stone’ or a rematch against Kwon as the Brazilian’s first assignment as a ONE world champion.