John Lineker says his fight with Fabricio Andrade was "a fight between true champions"

John Lineker may not have walked out of the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium with the ONE bantamweight world championship. Still, he is incredibly proud of the show he put on with new titleholder Fabricio Andrade.

Stepping into the ring for one of the most anticipated rematches in ONE Championship history, Lineker and Andrade delivered a spectacular main event showdown that had fans on the edge of their seats. In the end, Fabricio Andrade did enough damage to Lineker's eyes that forced his corner to throw in the towel and gave ‘Wonder Boy’ the moment he had long waited for.

Following the instant classic, Lineker told ONE Champion that he was proud to be part of such an epic championship showdown.

“I'm very proud,” Lineker revealed. “We fought a great battle, a fight between true champions. I believe it was one of the best fights of the event.”

The loss was John Lineker’s first inside the circle and his first knockout in more than a decade. Fabricio Andrade kept his perfect record under the ONE Championship banner intact with the victory, which included four straight wins by way of knockout.

The current holder of ONE bantamweight gold, Andrade, will turn his attention to the next man in line, Team Lakay’s Stephen ‘The Sniper’ Loman.

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Fabricio Andrade grateful for his ONE world title win against John Lineker and everything that preceded it

Fabricio Andrade has had an incredibly busy 14 months, but it couldn’t have ended any better than it did for him at ONE Fight Night 7.

Dating back to December 2021, ‘Wonder Boy’ has competed in five matchups, earning wins by way of knockout in four of them. None more important than his victory over John Lineker last weekend to reach the top of the mountain and call himself a ONE world champion.

Taking to Instagram, Andrade shared his appreciation for everything that has occurred over the last year and ensured fans that he will be back and better than ever to defend his crown.

"5 fights in 1 year and three months 2 fights being for the world title, everything happening really fast and I can just be grateful for everything now it’s time to rest and soon I will be back better and stronger than ever, thank you everyone for the messages and support 🦾🇧🇷❤️ #longlivetheking #wonderboy"