“He put a stone in front of me” - Fabricio Andrade recounts how his rivalry with world title challenger Kwon Won Il started

It took certain circumstances to brew the vicious bad blood between Fabricio Andrade and Kwon Won Il.

That feud started in 2022 and will have its explosive sequel at ONE 170 when Andrade defends the ONE bantamweight MMA world title against Kwon on Jan. 24 at Impact Arena.

Sharing an interview snippet on his Instagram page, Andrade revealed that his rivalry with Kwon started far beyond the cage.

Andrade said he and Kwon were the two rising stars in the bantamweight MMA division in 2022, and their clash at ONE 158 was pure MMA matchmaking.

It just so happened that both Andrade and Kwon are as venomous on the mic as they are inside the cage.

"Before the first fight against Kwon, I was like the guy who will fight for the belt, I was waiting for the fight between John Lineker and Bibiano [Fernandes] and I was waiting to challenge for the belt. I really knew I deserved that chance, you know, I was waiting," said Fabricio Andrade.

"He started to also call out for the belt at that time, and he was a contender. He put a stone in front of me when I was waiting to fight for the title. That made me very angry because I knew then that I would have to fight him first and then fight for the belt," added the Brazilian knockout machine.

Andrade's first match against Kwon was full of vicious animosity but ended as quickly as possible.

Finding the target almost instantly, Andrade folded Kwon with a clinical roundhouse kick to the body to secure the first-round knockout finish.

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Fabricio Andrade reveals the fight game gave him a purpose to lift his family from poverty

Fabricio Andrade knew at a young age that he had to play with the hand he was dealt with.

Growing up in the poverty-stricken communities of Fortaleza in Brazil, Andrade didn't have the same luxuries his peers had.

Andrade, nevertheless, persevered and found that martial arts gave him the avenue to help his family escape their situation.

Taking to Instagram, 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"