“Fabricio Is the First on the List” – John Lineker Praises Fabricio Andrade After Epic War, Calls New Bantamweight King the Toughest He’s Faced

John “Hands of Stone” Lineker and Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade’s war for the vacant ONE Bantamweight World Title at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video will go down as one of the best main event fights in recent memory. And for the athlete who left the ring with his first promotional defeat, Lineker isn’t disappointed with his performance inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium last Friday, February 24.

Instead, the former divisional king is singing the praises of Andrade, who took home the ONE gold after Lineker was deemed unfit to continue at the end of the fourth round. “I was happy to fight him. People always ask me who was the toughest guy I ever fought, and for sure, Fabrício is the first on the list,” the American Top Team athlete said.

John Lineker was happy with the amount of resistance he offered to Fabricio Andrade

Andrade was impressed throughout the 20-minute battle, but both men went toe-to-toe with rounds of heavy artillery. Lineker even had a couple of opportunities to wrap up the contest with another classic knockout, but Andrade’s iron-clad will refused to succumb to his “Hands of Stone.”

It wasn’t until the latter half of the fourth frame that “Wonder Boy” truly took control of proceedings. He backed his foe against the ropes and threw a devastating salvo of combinations that inflicted enough damage to confirm the start of a new era in the bantamweight division.

READ MORE – Epic Fights From ONE Fight Night 7 – Tawanchai’s Destructive KO, Lineker-Andrade Firefight, And Langaker’s Insane Heel Hook

Even though he came up short in his bid to reclaim the gold, the #2-ranked bantamweight contender was pleased with his output against the best knockout artist in the 145-pound category.

John Lineker viewed the fans as the true winners of the event

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the belt back, but I’m proud of myself. I gave my all in this fight. Fabrício is a very tough guy. He took blows that other athletes couldn’t take,” Lineker said.

“I put a lot of hard blows – knockout blows – that he even was rocked. That’s why I was very surprised by his absorption of blows. Fabrício is a tough guy, and I’m sure we would fight until one of us fell.” Above all, though, Lineker knows there was more than one victor after their epic headliner affair at ONE Fight Night 7.

READ MORE – “I Left No Stones Unturned in This Camp” – Martin Nguyen Reveals Key to Leonardo Casotti Win at ONE Fight Night 7

“In the end, the winners of this war were the fans,” the former titleholder added.