“Gave me a goal and a dream” - Fabricio Andrade says martial arts motivated him to rise and lift his family away from poverty

Fabricio Andrade has fought through adversity both inside and outside the cage. The reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion is a perfect example of one man making the most of the hand he's dealt with early in life.

Taking to Instagram, Andrade recalled how he had to fight to help his family get out of abject poverty in the slums of Fortaleza, Brazil.

The Brazilian knockout machine wrote martial arts gave him direction and a strict sense of discipline that he carried to the global stage.

Fabricio Andrade posted:

"The fight [game] gave me a goal and a dream, but the journey was not easy, especially coming from where I came from, but it is not impossible either, those who dream achieve their dreams, so I hope to continue realizing my dreams and motivating people to do the same, I still have many to achieve but I am very grateful for everything that has happened. #thankyouGod #gratitude #letsgoup #one170 #onechampionship"

Growing up in one of the most dangerous parts of Fortaleza, Andrade found solace in kickboxing and Muay Thai where he would excel at a young age. Andrade started a career in kickboxing but eventually transitioned to MMA, where he captured global notoriety under ONE Championship.

'Wonder Boy' was an immediate force and quickly racked up a perfect 6-0 record (1 no-contest) in his MMA matches in the promotion. His latest MMA win saw him stop John Lineker in the fourth round of their match at ONE Fight Night 7 to capture the vacant ONE bantamweight MMA world title.

Andrade now defends his throne when he takes on familiar foe Kwon Won Il at the stacked ONE 170 card on Jan. 24, 2025, at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Fabricio Andrade recalls sitting out the entirety of 2024 due to injuries

There's nothing more gut-wrenching for a fighter than sitting out due to injury. Fabricio Andrade endured the stress of it when he sat 2024 out due to multiple injuries.

In an interview with Bangkok Post, Andrade said he broke his hand when he beat John Lineker at ONE Fight Night 7.

Andrade also injured his shoulder after his fight against Jonathan Haggerty for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title at ONE Fight Night 16.

"I broke my hand on the second Lineker fight, and I had to sit for a while and recover. I thought I was good, then I took the kickboxing fight, and then after I had some injuries on my shoulder again."