"I want to finish John Lineker" - Fabricio Andrade hopes to emphatically win ONE bantamweight gold

Fabricio Andrade has one goal in mind, and that is to become the ONE bantamweight world champion.

The No.4 contender stepped closer to the title picture when he knocked out Kwon Won Il, the No.2 contender, at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen last Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

While there’s no official word yet, Andrade is already planning his battle strategy against ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker.

In his post-fight interview, Andrade said he wants not just to win against Lineker but to finish the reigning bantamweight king. He also has an opponent in mind when he does become the champion, and that is Stephen Loman.

Fabricio Andrade said:

“I want to finish John Lineker. I just saw Loman’s coach [Mark Sangiao] and I said to him, 'After I finish John Lineker, I'm going to give Loman a chance because I'm here to fight.' I want to fight all the best contenders so after I win the belt, Loman can come and try to get it from me.”

Andrade has been on a tear in ONE Championship, going on a perfect 5-0 run with four of those wins coming by finish. The 24-year-old is on a streak of three straight knockouts against Kwon, Jeremy Pacatiw, and Li Kai Wen.

His debut win was also a finish when he submitted Mark Abelardo in the second round of their match in July 2020.

Despite his continuous call-outs of Lineker, Andrade admitted that ‘Hands of Stone’ is still the toughest fighter in the division:

"Right now it's John Lineker, in my opinion."

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Fabricio Andrade says John Lineker won’t be running for long

The feud between Fabricio Andrade and Lineker wasn’t just fought on the microphone and press conferences, but also on social media.

Andrade claimed that Lineker has been ducking him on social media and it wasn’t until ONE 158 that the champion took note of ‘Wonder Boy’s’ presence on Instagram.

After Andrade won against Kwon, Lineker posted an Instagram story where he held the ONE bantamweight world title over his shoulder with the television screen, which had Andrade on it, in the background.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Fabricio Andrade said:

“He knew before this fight, he already knew I am the toughest challenger. I am the best bantamweight in the division and that's why he never chose to reply to me but he replied to Kwon and then I told him, 'I'm going to finish Kwon and I'm going to finish you next.’ Now he knows I'm coming for him and there is nowhere to hide, you know, I'm going to finish him. And maybe it's going to be faster than when I finished Kwon."

He added:

“He made a post and tagged me on Instagram. I just saw it so now he knows that he has to face me. So let's see what he's going to do now, you know. Things are just getting interesting right now.”