“I’m a different person” - Fabricio Andrade says he’ll unleash his new version in ONE 170 world title defense against Kwon Won Il

Fabricio Andrade is about to unleash his best version when he defends his throne against familiar foe Kwon Won Il.

The reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion will defend the gold against old rival Kwon Won Il at the stacked ONE 170 card on Friday, Jan. 24, at Impact Arena.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Andrade said he's developed so much that his current version is leagues better than the one that faced off against Kwon at ONE 158 in Singapore.

Fabricio Andrade said:

"A new version for sure. A brand new version of Fabricio Andrade. Over the last couple of years, after I became a world champion, I continued to learn inside and outside the Circle. I think I’m a different person."

Andrade and Kwon faced off for the first time in June 2022 in a matchup that pitted the two, at that time, possible world title contenders in the bantamweight MMA division.

While the build-up was filled with pure animosity, the action inside the cage ended in a flash when Andrade folded Kwon with a soul-crushing roundhouse kick to the midsection 1:02 into the opening round.

Andrade has since captured the vacant ONE bantamweight MMA world title in his second match against John Lineker at ONE Fight Night 7, a few cards after their first world title showdown at ONE Fight Night 3 ended in a no contest.

Kwon, meanwhile, racked up three straight knockout wins against Mark Abelardo, Artem Belakh, and Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg to put himself in the world title picture.

ONE 170 is available live at watch.onefc.com.

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Fabricio Andrade beaming with confidence ahead of ONE 170 world title defense against Kwon Won Il

Fabricio Andrade believes there's no way Kwon Won Il would beat him in their world title rematch at ONE 170.

In the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Andrade said he's better at every aspect of MMA than Kwon and would leave Bangkok with the ONE bantamweight MMA world title firmly wrapped around his shoulder.

He said:

"I'm just confident that I'm better than him. I'm a better fighter and I'm very sure I will find a route to stop this fight."