“The champion is back” - Fabricio Andrade savors his golden moment after defending bantamweight MMA throne at ONE 170

Fabricio Andrade could not have asked for a better comeback than the one he had this past week.

The reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion successfully defended his throne when he knocked out familiar foe Kwon Won Il in the opening round of their co-main event showdown at ONE 170 on Friday at Impact Arena.

After struggling and subsequently recovering from injuries in 2024, Andrade had an explosive return to action when he folded Kwon in less than a minute in front of a mental Bangkok crowd.

Andrade posted on Instagram that he felt his long layoff happened for a reason, and he was ecstatic, nonetheless, to once again lace up the gloves on the world stage.

"Everything happens at the right time, the champion is back! 🇧🇷❤️🌎," wrote Fabricio Andrade.

The Brazilian knockout machine looked like he never sat out an entire year due to injuries and looked brilliant in his second matchup against Kwon.

Kwon and Andrade didn't waste time setting up the pace and began throwing ungodly shots at each other the moment the opening bell rang for their world title matchup.

Andrade, though, found the opening and blasted Kwon with a soul-crushing uppercut to the midsection 42 seconds into the fight, reminiscent of their first matchup at ONE 158 in 2022.

'Wonder Boy' maintained his perfect MMA record in ONE Championship at an impressive 7-0 (1 nocontest), with five knockouts and one submission win.

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Fabricio Andrade wants to defend his throne in a busy 2025 campaign

Fabricio Andrade isn't one to sit idly on his laurels.

The ONE bantamweight MMA world champion retained his gold against old foe Kwon Won Il in the co-main event at ONE 170 in a triumphant return after he spent 2024 recovering from multiple injuries.

In his post-fight interview with ONE Championship commentator Mitch Chilson, Andrade said he's far from his best version and wants to defend his throne at least three times this year:

"I would choose to stay active in MMA. I think I still have a lot of room for improvement. I think I am not in my best yet. I want to defend my belt at least three times more this year and whoever ONE Championship want me to fight, I will fight."