“Everybody is congratulating me” - Fabricio Andrade on how fame changed his life for the better in Brazil

Fabricio Andrade went from being one of the neighborhood kids to the man they now look up to.

Growing up in the rough streets of Fortaleza, Brazil, Andrade always sought a way out, and he found that through martial arts.

Andrade ultimately achieved his goal of not just pulling his family out of poverty, and the reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion is now the one serving as the inspiration for his community.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Fabricio Andrade detailed how he’s welcomed in his old neighborhood.

‘Wonder Boy’ said it’s almost impossible for him to walk two steps ahead without someone congratulating him or bumping into old friends.

“Man, it's amazing you know even to go back to Brazil when now ONE Championship is on the main TV channel you know, everybody's hearing about me, all my friends from when I went back to where I used to live, everybody knows, me everybody is congratulating me you know.”

Andrade does have one of the most inspiring journeys to a world title in ONE Championship history.

Starting his professional career at Muay Thai and kickboxing, the Brazilian star transitioned to mixed martial arts and joined ONE Championship in 2020.

He quickly cemented his status as a world title contender and went on an unstoppable five-fight winning streak to get his shot at then-ONE bantamweight MMA world champion John Lineker.

Andrade’s first shot, however, ended in a no contest after he accidentally hit Lineker in the groin, which ‘Hands of Stone’ could not recover from.

Four months after their October 2022 encounter, the rivals ran it back, and Andrade finished Lineker in the fourth round to finally achieve his boyhood dream.

Watch Fabricio Andrade's entire interview below:

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Fabricio Andrade promises to lay waste bantamweight division in return

Fabricio Andrade has been enjoying some downtime while recovering from his injuries in Brazil.

After falling short in his bid to become a double world champion at ONE Fight Night 16, Andrade wants nothing more than to get back and dominate everyone ONE Championship puts in front of him.

In the same interview, Andrade said:

“I'm staying very quiet right now because I'm injured, you know. But they are all on my mind and when I'm back, man, I wanna line them up and knock them all out.”