“I was very confident” - Fabricio Andrade recalls the moment he knew he would be the bantamweight king

It didn’t take long for Fabricio Andrade to realize he was destined for greatness.

In just three short years, the reigning ONE bantamweight world champion went from prospect to legitimate superstar in ONE Championship.

Andrade made his promotional debut in July 2020 against Mark Abelardo, which provided an indication of him holding ONE Championship gold in the future.

In an interview with Honey Badger Hour, Andrade said he knew he could beat John Lineker the moment he had his hand raised against Abelardo.

Andrade eventually had two high-profile matches against Lineker, the second of which ultimately earned him the ONE bantamweight world title.

‘Wonder Boy’ said:

“For me, as soon as I beat Mark Abelardo, I knew I can fight Lineker. I can fight Lineker next. At that time, I was very confident I was going to beat this guy. But I fought him two years later now, two times.”

The pair met for the first time at ONE on Prime Video 3 in October 2022, but the match ended in a no-contest after Andrade accidentally tagged Lineker in the groin that ‘Hands of Stone’ could not recover from.

Their second meeting took place in February this year at ONE Fight Night 7, and Andrade made sure he was leaving the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium with gold draped over his shoulders.

Much like their first encounter, the two rivals put on a barnburner of a bout that eventually ended in a fourth-round TKO win for Andrade after Lineker couldn’t get up from his stool.

Andrade will now face ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title at ONE Fight Night 15 on October 6.

The champion vs. champion matchup and the entire ONE Fight Night 15 card are available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.