Fabricio Andrade honored to return to the Impact Arena where he won his ONE Championship debut: "It is very special"

The Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, holds a special place in the heart of ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade because that was where he introduced himself to ONE Championship fans in July 2020. At ONE: No Surrender, 'Wonder Boy' submitted veteran Mark Abelardo with ease in the second round — a moment that would hint at his future success in the promotion.

A sentimental Andrade talked about the significance of the venue in an interview with combat sports journalist Nick Atkin. He said:

"Yeah, I'm just very happy to be a part of this card, you know. It is a very special card at Impact Arena, 12,000 people, it is very exciting, you know. And also my debut was in Impact Arena and I got a rear-naked choke against [Mark] Abelardo."

He added:

"So five years later I'm coming back there as a champion, defending my title, you know, in front of 12,000 people it is very special and I'm very excited for that."

Watch the entire interview here:

Nearly five years since he first fought within the Impact Arena's halls, Andrade will return to the venue to defend the 145-pound MMA crown against South Korean rival Kwon Won Il at ONE 170 on Friday, Jan. 24.

ONE 170 is available via watch.onefc.com.

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Fabricio Andrade remains driven despite world champion status

After years of being the hunter, Fabricio Andrade now understands what it feels like to be the hunted, thanks to the 26 pounds of gold around his waist.

In an interview with ONE, Andrade shared how complacency will undo all of his hard work:

"The fact that it's my first title defense, it's important for me to be hungry and motivated. I can't underestimate anyone. Everyone wants to be champion, so I have to keep training hard and keep evolving to defend my belt as many times as I can."