“I wouldn’t say that he’s old” - Fabricio Andrade believes age will not be a huge factor against John Lineker

Fabricio Andrade has talked a lot of smack against John Lineker, but he won’t venture to take a shot at the ONE bantamweight world champion’s age.

Andrade can put his taunts and threats into action when he takes on Lineker for the ONE bantamweight world title at ONE on Prime Video 3: De Ridder vs. Abdulaev on October 21 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur. The event will take place in US primetime.

In an interview with South China Morning Post, the brash Andrade said his age difference with Lineker wouldn’t play a factor in their match as much as it did in the fight between Thanh Le and Tang Kai this past August.

The 10-year age difference between Tang and Le played a big factor in their ONE 160 showdown, as the Vietnamese-American star appeared a step slower than his Chinese rival. In the end, Tang claimed the ONE featherweight world title and became China’s first-ever male MMA world champion.

Andrade, 24, is eight years younger than Lineker and he pointed out that the 32-year-old bantamweight king is still at or near his athletic peak.

Fabricio Andrade said:

“I think he’s still young. I don’t think age will make so much of a difference...I have to keep training every day and trying to get better every single session. The work that I have put in this especially this year, like going through camps and no time off has my game leveling up like every single session, I keep getting better and better.”

Andrade said that his youth is fueling his personal ambition as well as his desire to provide financial security to his family. He added:

“So I wouldn’t say that he’s old or that he’s not in his prime, but I think what I have inside me that makes me keep working as hard as I’m working...and the hunger that I have to be a world champion...to finally make the money to change the life of the people around me [and] my family is what’s going to make the difference in this fight.”

Lineker and Andrade have unrelenting styles, the two martial artists are always searching for a fight-ending sequence.

Fabricio Andrade, the No.2-ranked bantamweight contender, is 5-0 in ONE Championship and is on a streak of three straight first-round knockouts. The latest of these was a body shot KO of Kwon Won Il at ONE 158 this past June.

Lineker, meanwhile, is 4-0 in the promotion with his last three fights ending in highlight reel KOs. His latest win saw him take the life out of longtime bantamweight king Bibiano Fernandes at ONE: Lights Out this past March.

Catch Fabricio Andrade's interview below:

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Fabricio Andrade calls John Lineker slow

Lineker’s second-round KO of Fernandes may have impressed the mixed martial arts community, but not Fabricio Andrade.

Andrade, in the same SCMP interview, thinks that Lineker got exposed on the feet against Fernandes, who is a natural grappler.

The outspoken bantamweight contender added that he took confidence out of what he observed in the Lineker-Fernandes fight and he’s ready to use that once he climbs the circle for his world title challenge. Andrade said:

“I did watch the fight live. I wasn’t surprised by his performance. I think he’s slow. Bibiano’s not known for his strikes; Bibiano is a grappler and everybody knows that. The fact that Bibiano was able to drop him showed me that [Lineker] has a lot of holes in his game, and that gives me a lot more confidence coming into this fight against him. I believe I can finish him in the first round only in striking."