“He’s more than a trainer” - Fabricio Andrade reunites with old coach Regis Silva ahead of world title defense against Kwon Won Il

ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade is making his first defense of his championship belt later this month and he has brought in a familiar face in old coach Regis Silva to help him prepare for it.

'Wonder Boy' will be defending his title against South Korean rival Kwon Won Il at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. It is also rematch of their first encounter in a title eliminator in June 2022, where the Brazilian won by knockout in the opening round.

In video feature on his upcoming title defense posted on Instagram, Fabricio Andrade talked about what role Silva is playing for their team at ONE 170.

The 27-year-old champion said:

"He came from Brazil, to help me. I’ve been training with Regis back in Brazil when I was just starting to fight. It’s good to have him, he’s more than a trainer, he’s like a friend to me. He trained old fights for me, but he’s also a good friend."

He added:

"It’s good to have him around and he’s gonna stay with me until the fight, and we’re also gonna do a lot of work together."

Check out the post below:

Silva helped Fabricio Andrade prepare for his match against Li Kai Wen of China in December 2021, where he won by TKO in the first round. The coach was also with him in his first title match against former divisional king John Lineker in October 2022, which ended in a no-contest.

ONE 170 is available on the ONE YouTube channel and Facebook (geo-restrictions may apply) as well as on watch.ONEFC.com.

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Fabricio Andrade says he has improved following extended break from competition

After over a year away from competition, Fabricio Andrade comes back evolved and reinvigorated.

He shared this in an interview with ONE Championship ahead of his scheduled defense of the ONE bantamweight MMA world title against Kwon Won Il of South Korea at ONE 170 on Jan. 24. Andrade relayed that the time away allowed him to take stock of where his career is right now and where he wants to take it next.

'Wonder Boy' said:

"I also evolved as a person, as a human being, and as an athlete. This evolution as a human being was very important for me, for me to better understand what I want to do and where I want to go."

Andrade was last in action in November 2023, where he vied for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing world title but fell short, losing by KO to then-bantamweight Muay Thai king Jonathan Haggerty in their all-champion clash.