“His kicks and knees worried me” - John Lineker admits Fabricio Andrade’s skills were a problem

Former ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker admitted that Fabricio Andrade’s length and mastery of distance gave him problems during their main event fight at ONE on Prime Video 3 last week.

The high-stakes affair ended in an anticlimactic no contest after Andrade accidentally nailed Lineker with a groin shot. The illegal blow rendered the 32-year-old unable to continue.

Prior to that errant foul, Lineker was already struggling against ‘Wonder Boy’. He appeared to be on the verge of getting knocked out for the first time in his career midway through the third round.

While ‘Hands of Stone’ is used to being at a size and reach disadvantage for most of his storied MMA career, Andrade was able to neutralize his power by keeping him at bay with powerful leg and body kicks.

Unable to get into his striking range, Lineker had trouble finding a home for those nuclear fists of his, especially in the early goings of the fight. John Lineker had this to say during the event’s post-fight presser:

“I usually don't have a hard time going up against taller guys or guys with a bigger wingspan, but his kicks and knees worried me a little, and that's why I didn't get into his range that much. I could have explored the low kicks more to disrupt his game and come in with my boxing, but his jabs were getting in and keeping me away from him.”

On the rare occasions that Lineker was able to slip past the 25-year-old’s lightning-quick jabs, he was still wary of Andrade’s soul-crushing knees. That signature knee to the body, of course, almost spelled his demise in the third round, up until the follow-up blow hit low and put a halt to the beating.

Surprisingly, the head-hunting Brazilian even resorted to performing several takedown attempts throughout the match, particularly after getting tagged early in round one.

If John Lineker gets a rematch with Andrade, he must find a way to overcome his length or risk falling into the same trap once more.

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Christian Lee believes Fabricio Andrade would have finished John Lineker had the fight continued

To be fair to the former champion, John Lineker still had his moments in that fight and clipped Andrade with some massive blows in the second round. The Tiger Muay Thai product, however, survived that onslaught and once again attacked from a safe distance in the ensuing round.

Reigning ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee believes that ‘Hands of Stone’ was pretty much done, and would have been finished had the fight continued after the illegal blow.

‘The Warrior’ made his view clear in an interview with The MMA Super-Fan, saying:

“I thought Fabricio Andrade put on an amazing performance. He was looking really sharp out there. He definitely showed that he was the better fighter that night. It’s unfortunate whenever a fight ends in controversy, but if it didn’t end in that fashion and the fight would have continued, I definitely think he would have gotten the finish that night.”

Watch Christian Lee’s full statement below: