By:  | February 17, 2023 9:18 am

Fabricio Andrade will face John Lineker at ONE Fight Night 7 in a bantamweight title rematch. Having clearly gotten the better of the UFC veteran first time around he is very confident heading into the rematch.

But Andrade thinks that the experience of being inside the cage with him for the bets part of three rounds will have helped Lineker. The Brazilian believes he has lost his element of surprise and expects the former champion to be better prepared this time,

“He will definitely prepare more now that he knows how good I am. But I believe this will not make a difference. Three months of training will not make him become another athlete,” he said.

Element of surprise

But while Andrade might have lost that element of surprise he is confident he will just be too good for Lineker,

“I know how he fights, he knows how I fight, and that won’t change for the rematch. So, I’m sure I’ll knock him out one more time,” he said.

Andrade was clearly winning the first fight when it was stopped. He had Lineker badly hurt but unwisely chose to throw a knee to the midsection which connected clean with the groin of his fellow Brazilian.

Having come so close to scoring what would have been a surprise knockout Andrade could be forgiven for thinking the moment had passed him by. But having hurt Lineker once he is sure he will be able to do it again,

“I think the fact that I came very close to ending the fight, that he was badly hurt in the fight and that I defended all his attempts on the ground, makes a difference in the psychological factor. He knows I’m better than him. His chance of winning this fight is if something extraordinary happens. But we know that I’m the best athlete, that this is my moment, and that I’m going to be the champion.”

Premature end

Five of Andrade’s six ONE Championship wins have come inside the distance. With the championship on the line he will have 25 minutes in which to put Lineker away.

Andrade is based at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket and has visited Lumpinee Stadium ahead of his fight there. It will take place in a ring which could suit the man who has kickboxing and Muay Thai experience.

Last time out Lineker made it to the third round before the groin shot from Andrade brought the fight to a premature end. It was the only mistake the young man made all night but it proved to be a costly one.

Afterwards Andrade looked devastated. But he has not been dwelling on that disappointment and plans to finish the Brazilian in a legal fashion on February 25th,

“This fight will end in a maximum of two rounds. And it will definitely end with me knocking out John Lineker one more time.”