Fabricio Andrade has dared Jonathan Haggerty to carry out his threat of chasing him down to MMA, as he finally gets set to return to ONE Championship.
Fabricio Andrade has dared Jonathan Haggerty to carry out his threat of chasing him down to MMA, as he finally gets set to return to ONE Championship.
The Brazilian will look to take out 14 months of frustration on Kwon Won Il when he puts his bantamweight MMA title on the line at ONE 170 inside Bangkok’s Impact Arena on January 24.
“Wonder Boy” has been on the sidelines since a second round TKO loss to Haggerty when they fought for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing title a year ago, and has yet to defend the belt he won in February 2023.
“Of course, as a champion you never want to lose, so that was a very hard loss for me. I had to rethink everything I did for that fight,” Andrade told the Bangkok Post backstage at Lumpinee Stadium during last weekend’s ONE 169 event.
“I don’t think it was the best camp I could have had, and a lot of things happened. The fight got pushed, and I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent in my body.
“It is what it is. It was an opportunity to improve. I still think I could have done better, but I’m also happy it happened how it was meant to be. Now I’m a different fighter, a better fighter, and I’m more hungry to improve.”
Haggerty had called for a crack at Andrade’s MMA title after knocking him out in November 2023, in a bid for a historic three-sport reign at bantamweight.
The Briton has since lost his Muay Thai title to Superlek, but Andrade is willing to give him a shot in MMA – if he still wants it.
“For sure – after Kwon there is no other name yet,” Andrade said. “There is John Lineker, but I already beat Lineker two times.
“If he wants to come, I think there is an opportunity for him. He can do one or two fights and have a little experience in MMA, and then I will be happy to fight him in MMA for sure.”
Asked what would happen if they threw down under mixed martial arts rules, Andrade stopped and smiled.
“Bro, let’s be honest,” he said. “I’m going to take him down, and I’m going to ground-and-pound the [expletive] out of him.”
Andrade now has renewed focus on his MMA career, which had taken an unexpected backseat after winning the belt.
“I haven’t been this excited for a fight since my debut in ONE. I want to put forward my best performance yet,” Andrade added.
“I broke my hand on the second Lineker fight, and I had to sit for a while and recover. I thought I was good, then I took the kickboxing fight, and then after I had some injuries on my shoulder again.
“After I recovered I had to wait a little more. It’s been some crazy times, ups and downs, but I’m just working a lot to keep improving, and trying to focus on the positive things and staying ready.”
Andrade has been busy mastering his craft at the Tiger Muay Thai gym in Phuket, and has added some new wrinkles to his game.
“People forget, and I forget too – my MMA record now is 9-2,” he said. “I don’t have much experience. I still have a lot of room for improvement.
“That’s what I’m focusing on. I realise I need to keep improving, working on my grappling and working on that MMA style so that I can reach a different level, and get better as a fighter and see how far I can go.”
Kwon and Andrade have met once before in the Circle, with Andrade defeating the South Korean by first-round TKO in May 2022, on his way to winning the belt.
“The fight ended very quickly. I was able to connect a kick to the body early on, but after he went back to the gym and really improved a lot,” Andrade said.
“He showed that in his performances. He got three finishes, but I know how to beat him. This time it’s not going to be different, but I want it to go a little longer.
“I don’t want it to finish too early. I haven’t fought for a long time, so I want to get some time in the cage, go three or four rounds and finish him in the later rounds.”
Fabricio Andrade has dared Jonathan Haggerty to carry out his threat of chasing him down to MMA, as he finally gets set to return to ONE Championship.
The Brazilian will look to take out 14 months of frustration on Kwon Won Il when he puts his bantamweight MMA title on the line at ONE 170 inside Bangkok’s Impact Arena on January 24.
“Wonder Boy” has been on the sidelines since a second round TKO loss to Haggerty when they fought for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing title a year ago, and has yet to defend the belt he won in February 2023.
“Of course, as a champion you never want to lose, so that was a very hard loss for me. I had to rethink everything I did for that fight,” Andrade told the Bangkok Post backstage at Lumpinee Stadium during last weekend’s ONE 169 event.
“I don’t think it was the best camp I could have had, and a lot of things happened. The fight got pushed, and I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent in my body.
“It is what it is. It was an opportunity to improve. I still think I could have done better, but I’m also happy it happened how it was meant to be. Now I’m a different fighter, a better fighter, and I’m more hungry to improve.”
Haggerty had called for a crack at Andrade’s MMA title after knocking him out in November 2023, in a bid for a historic three-sport reign at bantamweight.
The Briton has since lost his Muay Thai title to Superlek, but Andrade is willing to give him a shot in MMA – if he still wants it.
“For sure – after Kwon there is no other name yet,” Andrade said. “There is John Lineker, but I already beat Lineker two times.
“If he wants to come, I think there is an opportunity for him. He can do one or two fights and have a little experience in MMA, and then I will be happy to fight him in MMA for sure.”
Asked what would happen if they threw down under mixed martial arts rules, Andrade stopped and smiled.
“Bro, let’s be honest,” he said. “I’m going to take him down, and I’m going to ground-and-pound the [expletive] out of him.”
Andrade now has renewed focus on his MMA career, which had taken an unexpected backseat after winning the belt.
“I haven’t been this excited for a fight since my debut in ONE. I want to put forward my best performance yet,” Andrade added.
“I broke my hand on the second Lineker fight, and I had to sit for a while and recover. I thought I was good, then I took the kickboxing fight, and then after I had some injuries on my shoulder again.
“After I recovered I had to wait a little more. It’s been some crazy times, ups and downs, but I’m just working a lot to keep improving, and trying to focus on the positive things and staying ready.”
Andrade has been busy mastering his craft at the Tiger Muay Thai gym in Phuket, and has added some new wrinkles to his game.
“People forget, and I forget too – my MMA record now is 9-2,” he said. “I don’t have much experience. I still have a lot of room for improvement.
“That’s what I’m focusing on. I realise I need to keep improving, working on my grappling and working on that MMA style so that I can reach a different level, and get better as a fighter and see how far I can go.”
Kwon and Andrade have met once before in the Circle, with Andrade defeating the South Korean by first-round TKO in May 2022, on his way to winning the belt.
“The fight ended very quickly. I was able to connect a kick to the body early on, but after he went back to the gym and really improved a lot,” Andrade said.
“He showed that in his performances. He got three finishes, but I know how to beat him. This time it’s not going to be different, but I want it to go a little longer.
“I don’t want it to finish too early. I haven’t fought for a long time, so I want to get some time in the cage, go three or four rounds and finish him in the later rounds.”
