Fabricio Andrade expects a much better ending to John Lineker rematch

Fabricio Andrade was undoubtedly disappointed with how his first match against John Lineker ended.

Seemingly on the verge of capturing the vacant ONE bantamweight world title, a wayward knee strike shattered Andrade’s dream of becoming a ONE world champion.

Nevertheless, Andrade has an opportunity for a do-over when he faces Lineker for the second time in the main event of ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video on February 24.

Fabricio Andrade, in an interview with South China Morning Post, feels the rematch will have a far better ending than the one he and Lineker had at ONE on Prime Video 3 in October 2022.

He said:

“Yeah, yeah. The first fight was very good, you know, but the end of the fight wasn’t what I was expecting. But the expectations for this one are much better.”

Andrade’s accidental groin strike had so much force behind it that it shattered Lineker’s cup. With Lineker unable to continue after exhausting the mandatory recovery time, the fight was ruled a no-contest.

Since the first fight ended in a no-contest, the bantamweight throne remained vacant, and so did the two fighters’ precious zeroes in their loss columns.

Andrade holds a perfect 5-0 record in ONE Championship with three knockouts and one submission under his name.

‘Wonder Boy’ submitted Mark Abelardo on his ONE Championship debut and knocked out Li Kai Wen, Jeremy Pacatiw, and Kwon Won Il.

Lineker, meanwhile, is at 4-0 with knockout wins over former bantamweight kings Kevin Belingon and Bibiano Fernandes, as well as another over Troy Worthen.

ONE Fight Night 7 emanates from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and will be available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Fabricio Andrade admits no-contest finish affected him mentally

Fabricio Andrade has always been the confident sort with his brash promos serving as a testament to his steely resolve.

There was, however, an instance where ‘Wonder Boy’ had to struggle mentally.

Fabricio Andrade admitted in an interview with the MMA Underground that his no-contest finish against Kohn Lineker at ONE on Prime Video affected his thought process.

“Like after the fight, like I said, I had to just like, take my head out of it, you know? Because I was too stressed about everything and I just had to get past all of that stuff. But now I just feel like it’s gonna happen, you know, it’s gonna happen. I was asking so many times for the title shot and I kept fighting, knocking people out, it doesn’t happen and then I finally get it and almost knock him out, and don’t get the belt, just like, ‘Damn!’ It’s hard to explain."