ONE champ Fabricio Andrade knocking people out until he’s seen as world’s best bantamweight

Fabricio Andrade returns to mixed martial arts with a goal in mind: defend his ONE Championship title enough to be recognized as the No. 1 bantamweight on the planet.

Andrade had to fight John Lineker twice to claim the ONE belt in 2023, forcing the hard-hitting UFC veteran to quit after a 20-minute beatdown. He went on to face decorate striker Jonathan Haggerty for ONE’s kickboxing title — which didn’t end well for him —, and now finally puts his MMA belt on the line Friday in Thailand.

“I plan on fighting three or four times this year and stay active,” Andrade told MMA Fighting ahead of his ONE 170 clash with Kwon Won Il. “I hope to defend my belt as many times as I can. That’s also one of the goals, to be known and respected worldwide, but the only thing I can control is to fight and put on good performances, knocking people out and showing I’m on a good level and people can start to recognize me. Other than that, there’s really nothing I can do.”

Andrade is unbeaten in MMA bouts under the ONE Championship banner with five stoppages in six wins. One of his victims was Won Il, finished in just 62 seconds with a kick to the liver.

“I believe I’m not even in my prime yet,” said the 27-year-old fighter of Tiger Muay Thai team. “I only have a few MMA fights, so I’m still evolving in grappling and MMA, so with time the world will start to recognize me.”

Won Il was very vocal after victory over Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in early 2024, saying he was going to “kill” Andrade. The champion didn’t sound that impressed, though.

“I think he’s just trying to promote the fight,” Andrade responded. “He knows I knocked him out fast in our first fight, so he’s talking crap trying to get people to forget that. But the truth is, he knows he has to be 100 percent alert to fight me because I can end the fight at any moment, and just saying things won’t make any difference. When the cage closes, it’s only him and I there, and then we’ll see what he’s talking.”

Won Il is on a roll since losing to the Brazilian, knocking out three in a row to improve to 6-1 in his past seven. Andrade sees evolution in his game, but maybe not enough to accept a stand-up war in Bangkok.

“The first fight was very fast so it’s like we didn’t even fight for real, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how it plays out this time,” Andrade said. “I can’t go in there overconfident thinking I’ll end the fight the same way because maybe I can’t end it fast and ain’t ready for five rounds. I have to look back at the things I did right for that fight and focus on this fight, but also know that the fact I knocked him out with a kick to the body shows he can’t take a hit to the body. A fight is unpredictable and we have to be prepared for everything.

“I do believe he might try to (take me down) because last time he fought a dangerous striker and took him down and won with some ground and pound. His opponent didn’t have good wrestling, of course, but I think that might give him confidence to try to grapple with me. I wouldn’t say it’s impossible or unlikely that he tries that, but I’m sure I have the better wrestling and jiu-jitsu. If he tries that, I’ll be ready to defend. And if there’s an opportunity, I might take it to the ground and finish him. I don’t just go to the ground and hold you, I go for the finish.”