Fabricio Andrade credits China stint for helping him develop his lethal striking arsenal: “Kickboxing was very big there”

At ONE Fight Night 16, Fabricio Andrade will test himself by competing in a striking-only ruleset for the first time under the ONE Championship banner.

Since arriving in the promotion, ‘Wonder Boy’ has graced the bantamweight MMA division with some of the best striking ONE fans have seen.

With an impressive track record for finishing opponents on the feet, the Brazilian stopped his fellow countryman and the former world champion John Lineker earlier this year to win the vacant world title.

Having secured ONE Championship gold, Andrade turned his attention to hunting down more titles which takes him to November 3 at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Meeting Muay Thai champ Jonathan Haggerty in the main event, the two elite strikers will compete on neutral territory for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world championship.

Whilst ‘The General’ may outweigh his opponent when it comes to striking experience at the highest level, the MMA world champion is no stranger to the striking arts.

Ahead of his bid to become a two-sport world champion, Fabricio Andrade spoke about his decisions earlier on in his career that have made him into the competitor that he is today.

In an interview with ONE Championship, ‘Wonder Boy’ spoke about his career in kickboxing where he produced a record of 40-3, accrediting it to his time spent in China:

“I have a lot of experience in kickboxing. That time I flew from Brazil to China, I didn’t intend to go and fight MMA. I decided to just stick to kickboxing and Muay Thai career because I’ve had some tough losses in MMA, and then I was like maybe I should stick to striking. So I was just focused on competing in kickboxing, and that’s why I went to China, cause kickboxing was very big there at that time.”

ONE Fight Night 16 Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video will air live on US Primetime free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.