Fabricio Andrade Makes a Major Statement on the John Lineker Rematch

ONE Championship phenom Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade refuses to believe former bantamweight king John “Hands of Stone” Lineker is serious when he says he wants to run it back inside the Circle.

The 25-year-old striker inflicted devastating damage on Lineker. They met for the ONE Bantamweight World Title in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3 last Friday, October 21, inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Fabricio Andrade always wanted to fight John Lineker

“Wonder Boy” connected with jab-straights throughout the battle, leaving his rival’s right eye almost swollen shut by the end of the second frame. Andrade rode the same momentum into the third frame and looked on the verge of claiming the gold. Until one of his knees landed low, forcing the referee to declare the bout a no-contest midway through the round.

It was a dominant showing from the surging star, and he is highly confident that he would do the same if they crossed paths again.

“I know I’m the best guy in the division right now. For me, Lineker was the most feared guy at ONE because of his knockout power and his history. I always wanted to fight him because I wanted to prove I was better than him,” the Tiger Muay Thai representative shared.

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“I knew I was better than him, and I went out there and proved it. Now, I’m the best bantamweight in ONE and one of the best in the world.”

Andrade has shown he has the skill set to become the ONE Bantamweight World Champion. He’s been unbeatable throughout his tenure in ONE Championship, amassing a 5-0 record and taking out the best in the division along the way.

‘Hands of Stone’ won’t be up for a rematch

Grabbing the gold is the only thing on the Brazilian upstart’s mind. And though he’s open to another meeting with his compatriot, he believes Lineker isn’t genuinely interested in a second battle, so he’s ready to take on anyone on offer to reach his goal.

“ONE is interested in doing a rematch. I’m also very interested. I would like to face him again, but he came out of the fight very hurt. I don’t believe he wants the rematch,” Andrade said.

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“But if he wants to, I don’t know how long he’ll need to recover and do this fight again. And I made it very clear that I want to get back to fighting soon. If he’s prepared, it can be against him. If he’s not prepared, I want another opponent to fight for the belt.”