Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade enjoyed a blistering start to his tenure in ONE Championship. The top-ranked bantamweight contender won his first five contests inside the Circle and came within grasping distance of the divisional throne when he met John “Hands of Stone” Lineker in his sixth appearance last October.

Andrade controlled most of the action in their World Title tussle at ONE on Prime Video 3 until a knee aimed at his rival’s midsection landed low and left Lineker unable to continue, forcing the referee to declare the bout a no-contest.

Fabricio Andrade saw himself as the clear victor of his rematch with John Lineker

The Brazilian dynamo will have a chance to get his impressive run back on track when he rematches his fiery compatriot for the vacant ONE Bantamweight World Title at ONE Fight Night 7 next Friday, February 24.

At an official ONE Media Day recently, Andrade made it clear that he is confident he still holds the edge over Lineker, suggesting that the former divisional king doesn’t have the confidence to pull out a win when they meet to run it back. “Wonder Boy” said, “He knows I’m a dangerous fighter. I don’t believe he thinks he can win this fight. You know, if he thinks that, I don’t know, he’s delusional. But he’s still going to show up. He’s still going to fight.”

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Despite his self-belief, Andrade expects Lineker to put on a better performance than he did in their first battle.

Fabricio Andrade lauded the heart of John Lineker

Many are of the opinion that “Hands of Stone” wasn’t his usual self when he met his younger countryman in October – perhaps down to the fact that he was stripped of the World Title in the lead-up to the bout due to missing weight. But with hands-on experience and fight footage to learn from, Lineker certainly has all the tools at his disposal to find holes within Andrade’s arsenal in the rematch. Because of that, “Wonder Boy” refuses to be complacent in his preparation for the American Top Team star. 

Andrade added, “He knows he has to step in a cage with me, and I think he’s going to do that. I think he’s going to show up for the fight, but I don’t believe he’s scared. He’s a fighter. I’m a fighter, and we got to do what we do. It’s our job, so we have to fight.”

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If anything can be gathered from Andrade’s career in ONE thus far, it is that the young upstart certainly talks the talk and walks the walk. Find out if he can do it again at ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II on Prime Video next Friday, February 24.