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No.1-ranked ONE bantamweight fighter Fabricio Andrade understands that sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming a world champion. ‘Wonder Boy’ is willing to pay that price, even if it means missing some precious holiday time with his family in order to prepare for his upcoming rematch with John Lineker for the vacant ONE bantamweight throne.
The 25-year-old will get a chance to right his wrongs in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 7: Lineker vs Andrade II on February 10. Fabricio Andrade, who trains full-time at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand, recently traveled back to his native country of Brazil. However, instead of heading straight to his home in Fortaleza to see his loved ones, Andrade opted to go to Rio de Janeiro to continue his grind and further sharpen his talons.
The Brazilian KO artist told ONE Championship in an exclusive interview:
“I actually didn’t have enough time to go home to see my family so I went straight to Rio de Janeiro, I wanted to get some training there. There’s always a solid gym out there so I had some good training and just doing a lot of new stuff, getting more stuff introduced for my new camp.”
Andrade was on the cusp of realizing his lifelong dream this past October at ONE on Prime Video 3, where he was mere seconds away from finishing Lineker and becoming the king of the 145-pound division. A wayward knee that hit Lineker’s groin, however, ended what should have been the crowning moment of his spectacular career so far.
The thrilling war between the two compatriots ended in a no-contest, which certainly left a bad taste in Fabricio Andrade’s mouth. If Andrade can convincingly finish Lineker in their do-over, then those early mornings and late nights in the gym will definitely be worth it.
Fabricio Andrade shares his goal for 2023
Despite missing out on the bantamweight world title in a controversial fashion, no less, Andrade still considers 2022 as the best year of his career. After all, ‘Wonder Boy’ became a household name after back-to-back first-round finishes of Jeremy Pacatiw and Kwon Won Il. He was also putting on a striking clinic against Lineker up until that unfortunate low blow.
Heading into the new year, Fabricio Andrade is optimistic that the best is yet to come for him. He told ONE Championship:
“My goal for next year is to regain the title. I'll take what's mine. And I also want to stay champion, try to do some super-fights with special rules, and maybe try submission grappling. I want to make history. I still have a lot to achieve in my career.”
