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ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade is not rushing himself back from injury, choosing to be more calculated to be at his utmost best when he competes again.
'Wonder Boy' last saw action in November last year, when he vied for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title but lost by KO in the second round to the division's Muay Thai king, Jonathan Haggerty, in an all-champion title showdown.
But in the aftermath of his first ONE Championship defeat, Andrade shared that he was already dealing with a myriad of injuries that he said affected greatly his ability to put up a formidable challenge against Haggerty.
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It is something he does not want to have a repeat of as he continues to recover and prepares for future fights. He shared to Sportskeeda MMA in an interview:
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"For me, if given a choice, I'd want to fight tomorrow if possible. But I have to understand that I need to be healthy, I need to be strong. Because I'm in a position where I cannot make mistakes anymore."
Among the things he is looking to pursue when he returns is to go for the ONE featherweight MMA world title, currently held by Tang Kai of China, and realize his goal of becoming a two-division ONE champion.
Tang unified the featherweight belts and is now the undisputed world champion after stopping erstwhile interim titleholder Thanh Le by TKO in the third round of their unifcation fight at ONE 166 in Qatar on March 1.
Replay of ONE 166 is available for free to North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.
Fabricio Andrade wants to regain his killer instinct in the circle
Apart from getting himself back physically, Fabricio Andrade is also working on regaining his form, skills-wise, that has made him one of the best fighters in MMA.
Having to deal with various injuries of late, the Evolve MMA/Tiger Muay Thai standout admitted that it has affected his capacity to compete at a level that he is comfortable and satisfied with.
It was evident, he said, when he absorbed his first ONE defeat at the hands of bantamweight Muay Thai king Jonathan Haggerty in their all-champion clash for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing gold back in November.
In the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Fabricio Andrade highlighted his desire to return to the knockout-winning ways that he became known for, saying:
"When I'm healthy, when I'm strong, I'm going to be back 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."
Fabricio Andrade became a ONE world champion when he defeated former bantamweight king John Lineker for the then-vacant MMA title in the division by fourth-round TKO in February last year.
