When Fabricio Andrade squares off for a second time against John Lineker on February 25, he’ll do so with a home-field advantage of sorts. The two Brazilian warriors will headline ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video at the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Thailand. While neither are natives of the Southeast Asian country, Andrade has called Thailand his home for many years.
Discussing the highly anticipated rematch with The MMA Super Fan, No.3-ranked flyweight Danny Kingad believes that Fabricio Andrade’s familiarity with Thailand will give him an advantage in their ONE bantamweight world championship clash later this month.
“Although both of them are from the same country (Brazil), I think Fabricio Andrade has the home court advantage in this one. He’s been training in Phuket for a few years now. So it’s definitely an advantage for him, because he’s familiar with Thailand.”
Both men will enter the bout with a streak of knockout victories. Those streaks were briefly halted when their October showdown at ONE on Prime Video 3 ended in an anticlimactic no-contest due to an accidental low blow. The abrupt ending left the promotion without a ONE bantamweight world champion.
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Fans in North America can catch the epic rematch live and for free on Amazon Prime Video.
Check out the interview below:
Fabricio Andrade on his newfound fame following his ONE world title fight with John Lineker
Fabricio Andrade may not have left Malaysia with a ONE world title wrapped around his waist in October, but his performance made him an immediate fan favorite. Since then, Andrade has seen his stock rise significantly. In an interview with ONE Championship, Andrade discussed his newfound fame, saying:
“Man it’s crazy. A lot of stuff is happening in my life right now. It’s a bit like sometimes I get confused. It’s something that I have dreamed of my whole life, you know. But when it’s actually happening it’s hard to believe. I get really confused sometimes with what should I do, you know and stuff.”
'Wonder Boy' no doubt experienced a life-changing moment in his first meeting with John Lineker last year. Should he walk away with the ONE bantamweight world championship on February 24, he will experience yet another life-altering moment. Will Andrade rise to the challenge and capture 26.4 pounds of gold or will the pressure of the moment be too much to overcome?