The weigh-ins are done, and Fabricio Andrade only has to show up to fight John Lineker left on his to-do list.
Andrade, who is the number one contender at bantamweight, is completely done with pre-fight preparations and ready for battle. The young Brazilian scrapper posted a photo of his fight-week form to his Instagram account, sporting teal shorts with a flame and a Thai flag emblazoned on the side.
Take a look:
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Andrade has done this song and dance before last October, when he met John Lineker in a highly-anticipated showdown for the belt in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The fight hit its first major turn when John Lineker missed weight by .75 pounds and was ineligible to win the belt.
When the fight was called off in round three due to an accidental groin shot against Lineker, fans were left confused and demanded a rematch as soon as possible. All the drama and disappointment has set up an even bigger fight this weekend, and one of the biggest that ONE Championship has ever promoted.
Things are already going smoother than they were last October, with both Fabricio Andrade and John Lineker making championship weight for their world title fight tomorrow night.
Fabricio Andrade is excited by the numerous options to pursue with a victory over Lineker
ONE Championship promotes four different sports under the same banner, and fighters are consequently finding their options diversifying.
One fighter beginning to contemplate how to build his legacy against the promotion is Fabricio Andrade, who is looking to win his first world title this weekend.
A former professional kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter, Fabricio Andrade is the perfect candidate to step into other sports under the ONE banner. There’s just one thing standing in the way.
Speaking to MMA Underground about his future, Andrade said:
“Yeah, I’m gonna have to stop and look at the options because there’s actually a lot of options. I could fight Muay Thai, I could fight kickboxing, I could go up weight, there’s also a guy to defend the title from. There’s a lot of options. But I need to focus now on knocking Lineker out and we’ll see what we’ll do next.”
Above Fabricio Andrade reigning featherweight is Tiger Muay Thai teammate Tang Kai, so it could be a tricky fight to put together if he wants to move up in weight.
In the striking arts, fights with world champions Nong-O Hama, Petchtanong Petchfergus, Chingiz Allazov, and Tawanchai PK. Saenchai (who will also fight this weekend) will draw massive attention.
But first, he must beat the man who never surrendered the bantamweight MMA world championship, John Lineker, at ONE Fight Night 7. The event streams on Friday night in US prime time on Amazon Prime for North American subscribers.