“I was just waiting for the opportunity” - Fabricio Andrade says he expected his rise in ONE Championship

Since his ONE Championship debut in 2020, Fabricio Andrade has been smashing the competition left and right. With a perfect record of 5-0 inside the circle, ‘Wonder Boy’ is now finally set for his shot at ONE gold against defending bantamweight world champion John Lineker.

The two warriors will square off in the ONE on Prime Video 3 main event on October 21.

Ahead of the highly anticipated U.S. primetime headliner, Andrade spoke with Andrew Whitelaw of Asian MMA. Asked by Whitelaw if he was at all surprised by the dominance he’s put on display under the ONE banner, ‘Wonder Boy’ said:

“No, as I said, I have mentalized all this road, all that is happening. I have really liked mentalizing it because I know the work I have put in all those years. And I was just waiting for the opportunity, and the only fight that didn't play out the way I expected it to was the one that went into the decision. Because I wanted to finish that one as well.”

With five straight wins and four finishes, Fabricio Andrade has emerged as one of the best bantamweight fighters in the world. However, ‘Wonder Boy’ will face the biggest test of his career when he meets veteran knockout artist John Lineker, who has an impressive 17 wins by knockout in his storied MMA career.

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Fabricio Andrade convinced he is the best fighter in ONE Championship

Through five fights inside the circle, Fabricio Andrade has looked nothing short of spectacular. Coming off of three straight first-round finishes, there was no further denying ‘Wonder Boy’ his shot at John Lineker’s bantamweight world title.

Should he win, Andrade will solidify his spot as the best bantamweight in ONE Championship, though it sounds like that may not be good enough for the Brazilian challenger.

In a recent interview with ONE, Fabricio Andrade shared his opinion that he is the best under in all of ONE Championship.

“I believe the best MMA fighter in the ONE Championship right now is me. And the best striker too. Nobody did what I’ve been doing. Three first-round knockouts, making tough fights look easy.”

Whether or not Andrade is the best fighter in ONE is subjective. Needless to say, if ‘Wonder Boy’ delivers another showstopping performance against ‘Hands of Stone’ at ONE on Prime Video 3, it will be incredibly hard to dispute his claim.

“No one has done this so far in the ONE Championship, so it proves that I am on a different level than every other athlete. And not just in my division, but I’m on a different level if we look at all the divisions in the ONE Championship.”