“I knew I wasn’t at 100 percent” - Fabricio Andrade regrets taking on Jonathan Haggerty despite suffering a slew of injuries

Fabricio Andrade might have ended up on the injury list if he didn’t push through in his mega-fight against Jonathan Haggerty at ONE Fight Night 16.

The ONE bantamweight MMA world champion faced Haggerty, the reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai king, in the card’s main event in November 2023 at the hallowed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Andrade’s bid for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world championship ended in disaster when he lost to Haggerty via second-round knockout.

A couple of months after his lone loss in ONE Championship, Andrade revealed in an interview that he was nursing a slew of injuries heading into his champion versus champion match against Haggerty.

Fabricio Andrade told Sportskeeda MMA what he regretted the most in an exclusive interview:

“That we want to be tough, and we have to always think that we can win. I knew I wasn’t at 100 percent. I had a herniated disk in my neck, and it was running through my arm. There were points where I couldn’t feel my left arm. I lost some strength in my left arm. And there were a lot of injuries. But that was my decision to fight even though I knew I wasn’t at 100 percent because I thought I would still win.”

Andrade fell flat on his strikes, while Haggerty, who was coming off a massive KO win over the legendary Nong-O Hama, operated on an otherworldly level during the fight.

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Fabricio Andrade vows to rediscover killer mentality following loss to Jonathan Haggerty

Fabricio Andrade has always been one of the most confident fighters in ONE Championship, and that bravado carried him outside and inside the Circle or ring.

‘Wonder Boy’ was always unafraid to elevate himself at any chance he got, but his loss to Haggerty admittedly did a number to him.

Andrade has since stepped temporarily from competition and returned to his home nation of Brazil to celebrate the holidays with his family.

In the same interview, Andrade said he’ll focus on his physical recovery before looking to rediscover the killer attitude he’s always had:

“When I’m healthy, when I’m strong, I’m going to be back to where I was before. Not the guy who finished Lineker, but the fighter you guys saw defeat and knock people out before I fought for the world title.”