“Soon” - Bantamweight MMA king Fabricio Andrade pushes his training at Tiger Muay Thai, hints at potential world title defense

Fabricio Andrade could be in the middle of the ONE Championship circle sooner rather than later.

The reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion hinted at his return to defend his crown after a bittersweet 2023 campaign.

Taking to Instagram, Andrade looked sharp as ever while hitting the pads in his home gym at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand.

The natural striker posted:

"Soon 👊🏽🦾🔪"

Andrade is undoubtedly one of the most, if not the most, exciting fighters on the planet.

Coming from a background in kickboxing and Muay Thai, Fabricio Andrade effortlessly transitioned those natural striking gifts to MMA, where he's built a perfect 7-0 record (1 no contest) in the sport under ONE Championship's banner.

After submitting Mark Abelardo in his ONE Championship debut, Andrade collected four knockout wins in the promotion when he fell Li Kai Wen, Jeremy Pacatiw, Kwon Won Il, and John Lineker.

His fourth-round technical knockout win over Lineker also secured the ONE bantamweight MMA world title in his trophy cabinet.

Andrade then sought to achieve two-sport dominance when he faced off against Jonathan Haggerty for the then-vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title.

Unfortunately for 'Wonder Boy', he was nursing multiple nagging injuries heading into his fight against 'The General' and lost via second-round knockout.

Andrade has since taken some time off to recuperate and recover from his injuries and now looks like his old destructive self.

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John Lineker hopes for a world title rematch against Fabricio Andrade

The rivalry between John Lineker and Fabricio Andrade was the stuff of MMA lore from 2022 to 2023.

The pair of Brazilian knockout machines clashed twice over the ONE bantamweight MMA world title, with each fight getting more dramatic than the last.

Their first encounter ended in a no contest when Andrade accidentally struck Lineker in the groin shattering the former world champion's cup, leading to a no-contest.

The second match saw Andrade stop Lineker in the fourth round to capture the ONE bantamweight MMA world title.

Lineker, though, still has his sights on his old throne and wants to have a trilogy match against Andrade.

In an interview with Nick Atkin following his knockout win over Alexey Balyko at ONE Fight Night 25, Lineker said:

"He hasn’t defended yet because I asked him to wait for me. So yes, I hope it happens as soon as possible."