“He has a lot of holes in his game” - Fabricio Andrade says John Lineker exposed himself during world title win

Top-ranked bantamweight contender Fabricio Andrade said champion John Lineker showed a lot of holes in his game during his world title fight against long-reigning former bantamweight king Bibiano Fernandes.

With Andrade set to contend for bantamweight gold against Lineker on October 21, the 24-year-old phenom looks to have done his homework on how to beat the intimidating hard-hitter.

Speaking to SCMP MMA, Fabricio Andrade revealed how unimpressed he was with Lineker’s last performance against Brazilian icon Bibiano Fernandes, which took place in March at ONE: Lights Out:

“I did watch the fight live. I expected him to finish Bibiano in the first, but I wasn’t surprised by his performance. I think he’s slow.”

Lineker is known to be an explosive power puncher with insane knockout abilities. Andrade, however, doesn’t feel intimidated by the prospect of going strike-for-strike with the defending world champion.

The fact that Bibiano was able to hurt Lineker in the first round has seemingly given the Tiger Muay Thai fighter the confidence he needs to finish him on the feet rather than on the ground.

He continued to say:

“Bibiano’s not known for his strikes; Bibiano is a grappler and everybody knows that. He has always taken his opponents to the ground and tried to finish his opponents on the ground. The fact that Bibiano was able to drop him showed me that [Lineker] has a lot of holes in his game, and that gives me a lot more confidence coming into this fight against him. No, I have no interest in putting this fight to the ground because I believe I can finish him in the first round only in striking.”

Catch Fabricio Andrade's interview with SCMP MMA below:

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Fabricio Andrade claims John Lineker can’t handle his speed and intense footwork

Fabricio Andrade believes his striking is on a whole different level to John Lineker’s boxing. Unbeaten since 2018, Andrade has a proven ability to overwhelm and knock out competitors with more than just punches. His last three wins have come via a liver kick to the body, knees, and punches. This makes him one of the most dynamic strikers on the roster.

In the same interview, ‘Wonder Boy’ explained the value of movement and footwork, which he believes will be the key to his success over Lineker:

“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.”