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Fabricio Andrade believes he did more than just defend his ONE bantamweight MMA world championship at ONE 170 – he sent a statement to anyone looking to cut his reign as the titleholder short.
'Wonder Boy' brought an end to his spell on the sidelines in a matter of seconds when the world's largest martial arts organization ventured into Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, this past January.
The Brazilian phenom needed just 42 seconds to dispatch South Korean challenger Kwon Won Il, sending a chilling message to the rest of the chasing pack in the bantamweight division in what was primed to be a tightly contested five-round scrap.
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Months after his lightning-quick victory, the Tiger Muay Thai martial artist wasn't shy about assessing where he stands among his peers in the bantamweight division.
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"To Kwon Won Il, yeah, he was on a good streak. But as I said before, I am on another level - and that fight showed that," Fabricio Andrade told Inside Fighting.
He added:
"Not trying to sound confident. But it is what it is. I trained hard to get here, and I don't wanna give up my spot anytime."
Watch the full interview here:
Confidence is Fabricio Andrade's middle name
Confidence is not something that Fabricio Andrade has lacked since he joined the ONE Championship roster.
The 27-year-old Fortaleza native famously called himself the uncrowned king of the division after positioning himself as a world title favorite off five straight wins in the promotion.
Though his first world title matchup against John Lineker ended in a no-contest, 'Wonder Boy' made sure there were no setbacks when he ran it back against the Brazilian veteran.
He kept Lineker's 'Hands of Stone' at bay en route to the 26 pounds of gold with a fourth-round TKO win.
With a first successful world title defense out of the way, Andrade seems well on his way to a historic reign as the ONE bantamweight MMA world champion.
