“It felt more real” - Fabricio Andrade was extra excited to perform in front of live crowd

When Fabricio Andrade stepped into the main event at ONE on Prime Video 3, it was unlike any other fight he had in ONE Championship up to that point. Sure, it was his first main event and it was for a ONE world championship, but the biggest difference for ‘Wonder Boy’ was competing in front of a live crowd for the very first time since signing with the promotion in 2019.

In an interview with The MMA Super Fan, Andrade discussed what it felt like competing in front of a live audience for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began to subside in the majority of the world:

“It was different, you know? I remember when they brought us out, to introduce the main event to everyone, and then I saw a lot of people. I was like, ‘I’m not used to that.’ Because all of my five fights were with no crowd. But it was really nice. It felt more real, for them to watch you while they were screaming. It was a lot more fun and made me more excited. Maybe too excited.”

Perhaps Andrade was right about being a little “too excited” during his main event clash with John ‘Hands of Stone’ Lineker. Throughout the bout, Andrade performed beautifully, landing vicious strikes and devastating knees.

Unfortunately, ‘Wonder Boy’ threw a knee that landed lower than the intended target with so much force, it broke John Lineker’s protective gear.

As a result, ‘Hands of Stone’ was unable to continue and the bout was ruled a no-contest, giving fans an anti-climactic finish to an otherwise fantastic event on Amazon Prime Video.

Watch the full interview with 'Wonder Boy' below:

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Fabricio Andrade was desperate to finish John Lineker at ONE on Priem Video 3

Stepping into the biggest fight of his mixed martial arts career, Fabricio Andrade wanted to make a statement, particularly against one of the heaviest hitters in the sport, John Lineker. ‘Wonder Boy’ nearly accomplished his goal, lighting up Lineker with strike after strike.

It all appeared to have come crashing down for ‘Hands of Stone’ when Andrade landed a nasty knee to the body that caused Lineker to fold over in pain. Trying to follow up with another knee to the body, disaster struck.

Fabricio Andrade’s overzealousness got the best of him and in a flash, the dream of leaving Manila with a world title strapped around his waist was gone. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Fabricio Andrade said that he put a lot of pressure on himself to deliver a spectacular finish:

“I put a lot of pressure on myself. I don’t need anybody to do that for me because I already put a lot of pressure on myself. A lot of people doubted that I can beat him. There was a lot of pressure and I wanted to finish him in the first round. I wanted to finish him easy.”