“He’s more emotional than confident” - John Lineker believes Fabricio Andrade’s bravado is fueled by pressure

Fabricio Andrade is arguably the most confident fighter in ONE Championship, but John Lineker believes all that talk is just a mask that the world title challenger is putting up.

The two Brazilian stars will finally reach the tipping point of their feud when Lineker defends the ONE bantamweight world title against Andrade. Their matchup is set for ONE on Prime Video 3 this Friday at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.

Lineker and Andrade (well, mostly the latter) have been going at it leading up to their world title match in the Malaysian capital. While they didn’t share the same space, the two were present for the same pre-event virtual press conference and took that opportunity to launch some stinging attacks at each other.

Andrade was his usual brazen self, but Lineker saw it as a moment of weakness from his younger foe. The champion said during the ONE virtual media day faceoffs that Andrade’s bravado will eventually be his downfall on fight night:

“Yeah, for sure. I think he’s more emotional than confident. He’s coming in as the challenger so he has all the weight on him. I’m the champion, I’m already here, I just have to keep my place. Instead of talking so much, he should focus on building himself up for the fight.”

Lineker, 32, is seven years older than his opponent. He’s usually displayed a level of composure whenever Andrade has berated him on social media or even during the faceoff interview. Not one to direct talk trash at his opponents, the bantamweight king would rather use his fists to do the talking for him.

‘Hands of Stone’ is 4-0 in ONE Championship and is currently on a streak of three straight knockouts. John Lineker felled Kevin Belingon, Troy Worthen, and Bibiano Fernandes in devastating fashion, with his last win earning him the ONE bantamweight world title at ONE: Lights Out this past March.

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John Lineker open to fighting Demetrious Johnson at a catchweight

While he’s set for his world title defense against Andrade, that hasn't stopped John Lineker thinking about future possibilities inside the circle.

A fight that he’s more than willing to take on is against ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson. There is, however, a catch to this one.

In an interview with ONE Championship, John Lineker said he’ll gladly fight Johnson in a catchweight bout since can’t go down to the flyweight limit of 135 pounds.

“It would be a very interesting fight. Of course, at a catchweight, because I can't get to 61 kilograms. But at a catchweight, it would be a very interesting fight. I would really enjoy this fight and I'm sure the fans will too.”

First things first, though, the Brazilian must focus on the challenge in front of him this Friday at ONE on Prime Video 3.