“I’ve just gotten better every session” - Fabricio Andrade credits Petr Yan, training partners at Tiger Muay Thai

Second-ranked bantamweight contender, 'Wonder Boy' Fabricio Andrade, is getting into prime shape in preparation for his highly anticipated showdown with reigning ONE bantamweight world champion John ‘Hands of Stone’ Lineker.

The 24-year-old from Fortaleza, Ceara in Brazil, who trains out of Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand is determined to unseat the newly crowned king of the bantamweight division and take ONE Championship gold for himself.

Fortunately for Andrade, he has a litany of high-level training partners working with him each and every day. At Tiger Muay Thai, ‘Wonder Boy’ consistently works out with guys like ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin, former ONE middleweight world champion Vitaly Bigdash, top ONE lightweight contender Timofey Nastyukhin, and former UFC champion Petr Yan, among others.

It’s this list of top training partners that has shaped Andrade into the fighter he is today. In fact, the young Brazilian says he would not be where he’s at in his career if it weren’t for the work he has put in with some of the best fighters in the world.

In a recent interview with South China Morning Post MMA on YouTube, Fabricio Andrade said:

“The good thing for me for the past five years that I’ve been in Thailand is to be able to see those guys train and to see the level of where I am and also to keep leveling up. I remember five years ago, I was training with Petr Yan and in those five years, I’ve just gotten better every session.”

He added:

“I keep getting better and better and it doesn’t stop now. I’m still [just] 24 years old and still getting better. To be able to train with all those people and see the level that I am [now] just gives me more and more confidence.”

Now 24 years young and just entering his physical prime, Andrade feels invincible. However, he’s going to need every ounce of strength and skill for his next fight.

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Fabricio Andrade believes his striking is superior to John Lineker’s

Fabricio Andrade is set to challenge ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker in the co-main event of ONE on Prime Video 3: De Ridder vs. Abdulaev on October 21. The event goes down at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and broadcasts live via Prime Video to fans in the United States and Canada.

The fight is expected to be a fan-pleasing affair, with Fabricio Andrade and John Lineker both all-action strikers looking to end fights as fast as possible. However, ‘Wonder Boy’ believes his striking is just a cut above Lineker’s in terms of technique.

In the same interview with SCMP MMA, he said:

“My striking is different from his striking. He doesn’t bring anything new for me, he just has punches and he’s slow. What I bring to this fight is a lot of skills, head movement, speed, footwork, and he’s not ready for that. He has never fought anyone like me in any promotion.”