“That just proves he’s still on top” - Fabricio Andrade surprised by Demetrious Johnson’s KO win

Fabricio Andrade went from being a fan to a skeptic and back to being a believer following Demetrious Johnson’s masterclass against Adriano Moraes to become the new ONE flyweight world champion at ONE on Prime Video 1.

The rising Brazilian star hopes to at least come close to what Johnson did when he takes on John Lineker for the ONE bantamweight world title at ONE on Prime Video 3: De Ridder vs. Abdulaev at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Fabricio Andrade’s world title challenge will be on October 21, US primetime, and will be on the third Amazon Prime Video card of the year.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Andrade said that he initially thought Moraes would get the better of Johnson once more in their rematch. But the American legend found his footing in the latter stage of the fight and knocked out ‘Mikinho’ with a thunderous flying knee in the fourth.

Fabricio Andrade said:

“DJ impressed me a lot in his last fight. He’s a guy who already has a long history in MMA. He was coming from a loss to Adriano Moraes, who is a very big guy for the division, and I even believed that Adriano would beat DJ again. But the way that DJ won impressed me a lot. And that just proves he’s still on top.”

Johnson lost his first meeting against Moraes at ONE on TNT I in April 2021 when a knee strike knocked him out in the second round. His win in their rematch, though, was nothing short of poetic.

After struggling under Moraes’ grappling in the first two rounds, Johnson used his boxing to get into rhythm against the Brazilian superstar. The fourth round saw the sweetest of comeuppances when he tagged Moraes with a right straight before soaring in for a flying knee that ended the match with barely a minute left in the period.

The win was also a landmark moment for Johnson as he became the first fighter to win world titles in both ONE Championship and the UFC.

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Fabricio Andrade previews his world title fight against Lineker

Fabricio Andrade and Lineker are two of the foremost knockout machines in the bantamweight division and he feels that he’ll get the knockout win as early as the first round.

In an interview with South China Morning Post, the no.2-ranked bantamweight contender said he’s beaming with confidence heading into ONE on Prime Video 3 and that Lineker would be staring at the floodlights come fight night.

“If you watched my last three fights in ONE Championship, you have an idea of what’s going to happen. It’s the same thing, very entertaining fight, [I will be] coming in with a lot of confidence and I’m looking to knock him out in the first round... Nobody has ever done that to him and I’m gonna be the first guy to do it,” said Fabricio Andrade.

Andrade is 5-0 in ONE Championship, four of which were finishes, and is on a terrific run of three straight first-round knockouts.

Lineker, meanwhile, is 4-0 in the promotion and is on a run of three straight KOs. His best, though, was his second-round finish of Brazilian legend Bibiano Fernandes.

‘Hands of Stone’ proved that he is worthy of his nickname when he felled Fernandes with a dynamite left hook that quickly ended the match in the second round.