“I already saw myself as a champion” - Fabricio Andrade frustrated after envisioning world title win and falling short

Brazil's Fabricio Andrade was nearly the ONE bantamweight world champion. 'Wonder Boy' was putting pressure on former bantamweight king John Lineker in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3.

Many fighters, including Andrade himself, believed that he was winning the bout up until the unfortunate knee to Lineker's groinal area. The 25-year-old Brazilian athlete first hammered 'Hands of Stone' with a thunderous knee to the body, which caused him to stumble. Andrade followed this up with another knee, however, it accidentally hit his opponent's cup. Lineker was unable to continue and the fight was declared a No Contest.

Fabricio Andrade had nearly accomplished his goal of becoming a world champion in ONE, however, it was all snatched away from him. In an interview with ONE Championship, he explained how challenging this was:

“It was very frustrating because I had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. I was prepared, and I already saw myself as a champion.”

The Tiger Muay Thai trained fighter continued to explain why he feels that he was ahead:

“The fight went almost as I expected. I actually expected Lineker to be more aggressive, but he was very cautious. He respected me a lot, he respected my fighting style. He was retreating a lot and waiting for me to attack. I confess that I expected a more aggressive fighter, so I had to change my strategy a bit.”

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Fabricio Andrade is still improving his game

'Wonder Boy' Fabricio Andrade is only 25 years old. He feels this is an advantage to him as he is still improving. In an interview with ONE Championship, ahead of ONE on Prime Video 3, he explained:

"I believe I'm entering my peak – not only as a fighter, but also outside the cage. The way I've been behaving, the discipline I've been having in relation to diet, the mental part and training. Everything I've done has shown that I'm 100 percent focused on being the best version of myself."

The Brazilian athlete is only getting better. The dangerous striker will continue to improve and come into his next world title bout even sharper. Andrade is looking to get back in the ONE circle as quickly as possible, as he still wants the bantamweight world championship.