Despite not winning the world title, Fabricio Andrade says no-contest finish "was not the worst thing" to happen

Even though Fabricio Andrade walked out of ONE on Prime Video 3 without the ONE bantamweight world championship, ‘Wonder Boy’ believes it could have been much worse than how they ended up in the evening’s main event.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Andrade reflected on his main event clash with John ‘Hands of Stone’ Lineker, saying:

“I think I have a reflection on everything, so in the end it was not the worst thing. Everybody liked the fight and everybody knows John Lineker. To have a rematch with him is not like the worst thing because it’s gonna create more attention for the fight especially now people know me.”

Andrade concluded his thoughts with:

“I think at the end it was not the worst case scenario to have happened. Of course I wanted to have a couple more big bonuses on my pocket right now but, maybe after the next one.”

Seemingly seconds away from a sure victory in the third round of their bantamweight title clash, Fabricio Andrade delivered a knee that hit Lineker directly in the groin, immediately dropping the heavy-handed striker.

Unable to recover, the bout was called off and deemed a no-contest. Fortunately, fans won’t have to wait long for the rematch. The two are slated to scrap once again at ONE on Prime Video 7 on February 10.

Watch the full interview below:

---

Fabricio Andrade tasted the power of John Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3

Perhaps one of the biggest things Fabricio Andrade will take into his rematch with John Lineker in February is knowing what it feels like to be tagged by his ‘Hands of Stone’ inside the circle.

Discussing their first meeting at ONE on Prime Video 3 with The MMA Superfan, Andrade recalled a moment when he was caught by the former bantamweight champion:

“Actually after the takedown, I tried to stand up and he hit me a couple of times but I felt nothing. And then I was like ‘get out of here.’ Then I tried to avoid him and he hit me again and he caught me that time."

He added:

“But I could see everything and I just moved out and said to myself ‘oh I cannot do that’ then after that then I started to think at the back of my mind and say ‘I’ll finally stop it, I usually don’t get hit by this guy.’”