“He took the easy way out” - Fabricio Andrade says John Lineker saw an exit plan and followed it

Fabricio Andrade believes John Lineker took the easy way out at ONE on Prime Video 3.

Andrade vs. Lineker was a back-and-forth fight, with the damage to the former champion being the difference maker. By the third round, ‘Hands of Stone’ had severe damage to his right eye and seemed to be fading as Andrade continued to land straight punches.

‘Wonder Boy’ suddenly landed a beautiful knee to the body, but followed up with another knee that hit Lineker in the groin and broke his cup. The fight was ultimately stopped and resulted in a no contest.

Despite the cup being broken, Fabricio Andrade had this to say post-fight about Lineker wanting a way out:

“The fight was lost to him. I think many would do what he did. He wasn't going back to the fight. If he came back, he would’ve been knocked out. He took the easy way out because he knew the fight was lost.”

Lineker wasn’t out of the fight, but his chances of winning were decreasing due to the sustained damage. Many, including ONE champ Christian Lee, suggested that 'Hands of Stone' was on his way to a stoppage loss.

Hopefully, a rematch can be organized to determine the rightful ONE bantamweight world champion.

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Fabricio Andrade has already returned to training

John Lineker effectively used his grappling and landed massive hooks on Fabricio Andrade, but the title challenger didn’t seem to suffer any brutal injuries.

‘Wonder Boy’ had this to say about skipping his vacation and immediately returning to training to prepare for another world title shot:

“Now, I'm the best bantamweight in ONE and one of the best in the world, so having the belt would be very important to me. I already gave up my vacation to be able to go back to the gym and continue training. Now, I'll wait to find out who will be my opponent for the belt.”

Lineker, meanwhile, might have suffered a broken orbital at ONE on Prime Video 3. Due to ‘Hands of Stone’ also missing weight, ONE Championship could decide to match up Andrade with another fighter for the vacant bantamweight world title while the former champion heals.

Nonetheless, ‘Wonder Boy’ will almost certainly be fighting for the title next, and he’s already training for the opportunity.