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Rising star Fabricio Andrade only wants to fight the best of the best, and reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao is on his wish list.
The No.1-ranked ONE bantamweight MMA fighter, who is set to challenge the promotion’s 145-pound king John Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3, said he’s open to a possible crossover bout with the legendary Muay Thai icon somewhere down the line.
Before bursting onto the MMA scene, ‘Wonder Boy’ first sharpened his blades under Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand. The 24-year-old Brazilian striker already has 40 wins in Muay Thai and kickboxing under his belt.
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In an interview with ONE Championship, Fabricio Andrade talked about testing his stand-up skills inside the circle in a possible special-rules superfight.
He said:
“For sure! My intention in ONE is to give the fans what they want. If it's something the fans want to watch, I'm definitely available to do this super fight with special rules.”
It appears that special-rules superfights will now be a staple under the ONE banner following the success of the Demetrious Johnson versus Rodtang Jitmuangnon showdown at ONE X this past March.
The pair of ONE world champions figured in an epic bout featuring a fusion of Muay Thai and MMA rules. ‘Mighty Mouse’ emerged the victor after submitting Rodtang in the second round.
ONE already has its second special mixed-rules bout lined up. Stamp Fairtex will be taking on Anissa Meksen at ONE on Prime Video 6 early next year.
Andrade, meanwhile, said he won’t settle for anyone less than a striking genius like Nong-O.
“If there was to be a super fight under these special rules, without a doubt the only Muay Thai fighter I would want to face would be Nong-O. For being one of the best Muay Thai fighters of all time and for being very dominant in his division, in addition to having a very big name in the organization, he would be one of the only fights I would be interested in.”
Fabricio Andrade seeks to end John Lineker’s world title reign
As phenomenal as Fabricio Andrade has been so far, he still has to earn his stripes first before being on the same pedestal as Nong-O Gaiyanghadao.
That potential superfight will be more realistic if it's a champion versus champion scenario. ‘Wonder Boy’ can make that a reality if he can dethrone John Lineker on Ocober 21 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
However, finishing a man with ‘Hands of Stone’ is much easier said than done. The Tiger Muay Thai fighter, though, believes he has all the tools to hand Lineker his first loss inside the circle.
Fabricio Andrade said in a separate interview with ONE:
“He's a very short guy. I believe I could control the distance well and use my knee to stop him. I'm sure this fight won't go past the first round. I'll knock him out or submit him in the first round.”
Lineker does have a granite chin and has never been knocked out in his career. If Fabricio Andrade does pull it off, and in spectacular fashion nonetheless, then maybe a fight with Nong-O isn’t so far-fetched after all.
