'Wonder Boy' Fabricio Andrade landed significant strikes against 'Hands of Stone' John Lineker in their first bout. It ended with an unfortunate and accidental strike to the groin. Officially, it was declared a No Contest.
The 25-year-old Brazilian striker feels that he was mere moments away from accomplishing his life's dreams and earning the vacant ONE bantamweight world championship. But in a single moment, it was all taken away from him.
Andrade described how he felt in an interview with SCMP MMA, where the Brazilian fighter said:
"In my mind, it was just that I don't have the belt. I don't have the bonus, I don't have anything. And I was so stressed. It took a while for me. I had to step back a little bit and let everything go. It took one, or two months. And now, I'm finally relaxed again."
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Fabricio Andrade and 'Hands of Stone' Lineker will soon battle for the vacant bantamweight throne again. The world championship rematch between the Brazilians is booked for ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video.
The event will go down on February 24th at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium. All the action will be broadcast live and for free on Prime Video for all Amazon subscribers across North America.
Catch the full interview below:
John Lineker discusses the groin shot from Fabricio Andrade
'Hands of Stone' John Lineker suffered a pretty severe groin shot from Fabricio Andrade. It even broke the protective cup and he was unable to continue the fight.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, 'Hands of Stone' discussed the matter and said:
"At first I rested for a few days, with pain, at least three weeks with pain, and I took medication. But thank God it was nothing so serious and I had a good recovery and soon after I returned to training."
John Lineker, Fabricio Andrade, and fans around the globe are all looking forward to the rematch showdown. Both of these Brazilian strikers will bring their heavy hands and will be aiming for a knockout finish on February 24th at ONE Fight Night 7. The vacant ONE bantamweight world championship will soon find a king.