“I was not happy with that” - Fabricio Andrade admits getting taken down by John Lineker wasn’t good

Fabricio Andrade put on a sharp performance against John Lineker despite being the far less experienced fighter between them. Going into round three against his fellow Brazilian, Andrade oustruck Lineker and was on the path to victory.

Halfway through round three, however, the result of the fight would be taken away from Fabricio Andrade when a low blow to John Lineker left him unable to continue.

Much of the fight could constitute as a moral victory for Andrade, but there was one element of the fight that still bugs him: Lineker’s frequency of completed takedowns. Speaking to the South China Morning Post about the fight, Andrade had this to say about John Lineker’s strategy:

"I think I ended up giving him some openings to wrestle with me, and got taken down twice. I was not happy with that."

Watch the entire interview below:

With five months to adjust and focus on making improvements, fans will get to see if Fabricio Andrade is better prepared for the wrestling of Lineker. Once again contested for the vacant bantamweight world championship, the fight will take place in a boxing ring at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on February 24.

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Fabricio Andrade already targetting opponent for first world title defense

If Fabricio Andrade can get past John Lineker in a few weeks, he’s fully committed to being an active champion, facing the best the division can throw his way.

The bantamweight world title has been vacant since former titleholder John Lineker missed weight last October, and in the meantime, the division has begun to produce new contenders.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Andrade gave his pick of the first fighter he’d like to defend the belt against should he win at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium:

"I got a lot of goals. But first I want to win the belt and I want to defend [it]. So we already got Loman there. So after the fight, I'm going to talk with ONE. We're going to sit and we're going to see when we can fight Loman."

Stephen Loman of the Philippines is currently undefeated in three fights for ONE Championship, and before that, tore through other promotions, claiming an MMA title of his own.

He most recently defeated former world champion Bibiano Fernandes in a passing-of-the-torch sort of fight. Now ranked number three in ONE Championship’s official rankings, the only fighters ahead of Stephen Loman are fighting for the vacant belt this month - Fabricio Andrade and John Lineker.

ONE Fight Night 7 goes down on February 24 in Bangkok, Thailand. The event streams in US prime time on Amazon Prime for North American subscribers.