ONE bantamweight world title contender Fabricio Andrade will face his rival, former ONE bantamweight king John Lineker, for a second time. The pair of heavy-handed strikers will meet in a rematch in the main event of ONE Fight Night 7.
After their controversial first match last year ended in a no-contest, both 'Wonder Boy' and 'Hands of Stone' are battle-ready to get their hands on each other. Needless to say, both warriors are eager to put a definitive end to the rivalry once and for all..
In an Instagram post by Sportskeeda reposted by Fabricio Andrade, the Brazilian KO artist answered a simple question: Who wants it more?
Here's what Fabricio Andrade had to say:
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"I don’t know about you guys but I do 😋 #oneonprimevideo7 #bangkok 🇹🇭"
Though it can be contested by Lineker fans that 'Hands of Stone' wants it more than 'Wonder boy', we can't deny Andrade's belief in himself. He was arguably a second or two away from capturing the belt when he caught Lineker with a hard knee to the body. Instead, Fabricio Andrade accidentally hit Lineker in the groin, ending their first fight in disappointing fashion.
If that doesn't make him believe that he can undoubtedly hurt Lineker in the rematch, we don't know what will.
Fans in North America can catch this match and the rest of ONE Fight Night 7 on U.S. primetime of February 24 live and for free on Prime Video with an Amazon subscription.
Fabricio Andrade believes he did everything right in first Lineker fight
Back in October 2022, Fabricio Andrade and John Lineker produced a hard-hitting world title match that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Near the midway point of the contest, however, Andrade landed a hard knee directly to Lineker’s body, immediately sending him to a retreat.
Andrade, smelling blood in the water, swarmed in for the finish. Attempting to follow-up with another knee to the body, 'Wonder Boy' unfortunately went too low and hit Lineker's groin. The strike was so hard that it broke the groin cup ‘Hands of Stone’ was wearing.
Lineker was unable to continue and the fight was called off. Since 'Hands of Stone' was stripped of the world title for missing weight, no one walked out of the event as the world champion.
Speaking about his immediate thoughts on the end of the match in an interview with ONE Championship, Fabricio Andrade said:
“I trained a lot, worked a lot, and sacrificed a lot to get in my best shape. I made weight, I did everything right, I was winning the fight, almost knocking him out, and the fight ended like that. From a near knockout to a no-contest, it was very frustrating. I was very sad with the result of the fight.”
Undoubtedly, Andrade would love to finish what he started against the former world champion. Look to see him pick up from where he left off come ONE Fight Night 7.