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Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.
Today, we’ll discuss Martin Nguyen taking notice of Shamil Gasanov’s hype train, John Lineker claiming to have a solution for Fabricio Andrade’s Muay Thai striking, and Andrade looking to put on a more dominant performance in his rematch against Lineker.
#3. Martin Nguyen isn’t taking Shamil Gasanov lightly ahead of pivotal ONE Championship bout
Martin Nguyen always knew that there are no easy fights in ONE Championship, and his next one is right up that alley.
ONE Championship's first two-division world champion will face rampaging Russian fighter Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video. The event is set for this February 24 at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.
Gasanov is 13-0 in his career and is coming off a first-round submission win over Kim Jae Woong in his ONE Championship debut at ONE on Prime Video 3 in October 2022.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Nguyen said that he’s aware of how dangerous Gasanov is:
“I’m buying the hype... He’s a good guy and a good fighter. Obviously 13-0. You can’t fight 13 bums. Good for him. There was once upon a time, another Russian guy that I fought that was undefeated and riding a huge hype as well. So I kind of see it like there’s a lot of similarities there.”
The “Russian guy” Nguyen alluded to was submission specialist Marat Gafurov. At the time, he had a 15-0 record before suffering his first career loss at ONE: Quest for Greatness in 2017.
Nguyen not only beat Gafurov, but he also took the Russian’s ONE featherweight world title via second-round knockout.
Catch the full interview below:
#2. John Lineker believes he has a solution for Fabricio Andrade’s Muay Thai
John Lineker knows that he has to make adjustments in his upcoming rematch against Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE bantamweight world title at ONE Fight Night 7.
The former bantamweight king visibly struggled against the creative striking that Andrade utilized in their first match at ONE on Prime Video 3 in October 2022. Nevertheless, Lineker is ready to put on a different performance on February 24.
Lineker, in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, said that he’ll further use his grappling to neutralize Andrade’s versatility on the feet:
“Andrade is an excellent fighter, a tough guy, but for sure this new fight against him will be different. But like I said, even though he has good Muay Thai, I'm working a lot on the issue of distance to shorten it better and use my grappling. I'm also working on my movement in the cage. It will definitely make a difference.”
The pair of Brazilian strikers are two of the best knockout artists in ONE Championship right now, accumulating seven finishes in the circle between them.
ONE Fight Night 7 is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
#1. Fabricio Andrade looking for an even more flawless performance against John Lineker in rematch
Fabricio Andrade was arguably moments away from claiming ONE Championship gold when he first met John Lineker for the vacant ONE bantamweight world title in October 2022.
‘Wonder Boy’ was lighting up the match with his dominant striking, but an inadvertent knee to the groin caused the ONE on Prime Video 3 main event to be called a no contest.
Obviously disappointed with how things ended, Andrade admitted that he felt out of sorts during the final sequence. He has vowed to head into Lumpinee Boxing Stadium a better fighter than last time.
Andrade, in an interview with the South China Morning Post, said:
“Man, honestly, I think I got a bit pressured. I was just feeling a bit anxious and I wanted to finish the fight really fast… And I'm sure this fight is going to be different. I'm sure I'm going to perform much better than I did in our first fight.”
The 25-year-old is one of the fastest-rising stars in ONE Championship right now, with four of his five wins inside the circle ending in either a knockout or submission.
Catch the full interview below:
