Fabricio Andrade explains drive behind John Lineker win: “Many people wouldn’t believe that I would beat him”

Fabricio Andrade isn’t new to breaking through barriers, and his victory over John Lineker was proof of that.

The two Brazilian collided twice in ONE Championship, and the second one saw Andrade capture the vacant ONE bantamweight MMA world title via fourth-round technical knockout at ONE Fight Night 7.

Andrade fell into an emotional puddle after he earned the 26-pound belt, and he had several reasons why he slumped to a moving picture of determination and inspiration.

In an interview with FightWave, Andrade said the victory was both the culmination of a childhood dream and the completion of a personal struggle.

Andrade pointed out that he felt he was being brushed off heading into his first fight against Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3.

Lineker, to his credit, was coming off his stunning knockout win over the near-invincible Bibiano Fernandes when he faced Andrade for the first time in October 2022.

‘Hands of Stone’ was also a veteran in the MMA scene after wreaking havoc in the UFC before his move to ONE Championship in 2019.

Andrade said:

“The Lineker fights as well because of the name, he has a name behind him. People were used to seeing him in the UFC, you know, and he was knocking people out. So when I finally got the chance, the opportunity to fight him, I knew that it was going to be a big fight because many people wouldn’t believe that I would beat him.”

He added:

“So I think that fight had a lot of hype because of that. And to beat him was awesome.”

The tension between the two fighters was practically visible during their first fight in Kuala Lumpur, but the fight ended on a sour note after ‘Wonder Boy’ accidentally hit Lineker in the groin.

The inadvertent strike shattered Lineker’s cup, and the fight was ruled a no-contest.

Andrade, though, made sure that their February 2023 rematch won’t have such a disappointing end. Their second fight looked like a proper sequel, too, with both fighters swinging for the fences at the opening bell.

Despite Lineker’s best efforts, Andrade landed better and stronger, leading to the referee waving off the fight in the fourth round.

Andrade will need to unleash that same mentality this Friday when he takes on ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty in a super fight in the main event of ONE Fight Night 16.

The two world champions will collide for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The entire ONE Fight Night 16 card is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

Watch Andrade's entire interview below: