Fabricio Andrade has had John Lineker in his crosshairs for years. The Brazilian used to watch his countryman compete in the UFC when he was growing up and the pair will compete for the second time at ONE Fight Night 7 on Saturday.
But while Andrade was able to dominate that fight he expects a much improved performance from the former champion this weekend,
“I’ve seen everything from (him) but I don’t think he will perform the same. I think he will put on an even better performance this time,” he said at the virtual face off.
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No show
Interestingly Lineker did not appear so the media never got his thoughts on any topic including the ending to their first encounter. That left Andrade to do all the talking and he thinks his opponent was already done by the time he landed the groin shot that caused the no contest,
“After I hit (him) with the first knee, it was over. He was about to throw up, his ribs or something were hurt. He was not coming back from that. And now the guy is talking nonsense, he’s not showing up, I don’t know what’s happening with him right now.”
So while Andrade expects an improved performance from the veteran he thinks Lineker is ’embarrassed’,
“It must be embarrassing for Lineker, he doesn’t show up to the interview. Even in our last interview, it seemed like he was embarrassed. He doesn’t want to be in this position. I’m not mad or anything, I just think it’s funny he didn’t show up,” he said.
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Any second
Having clearly got the better of the 32 year old the first time they thought Andrade wonders if his experienced opponent is struggling for confidence,
“I don’t believe he thinks he can win this fight (but) if he does he’s delusional. If he comes to fight, I’ll knock him out in the first round. But we saw in the last fight he tried to wrestle with me, something we had agreed not to do. I’m just going to be patient, I’ll be ready to knock him out at any second in the fight.”
The 25 year old is currently at the peak of his powers. The former kickboxer racked up three-straight first round finishes before his first bout with Lineker as is riding a seven fight winning streak.
Having come so close to beating Lineker first time around he felt more calm in his preparations for the rematch.
“This camp was much more enjoyable than the last one. I think before the last fight I put a lot of pressure (on myself), ahead of this one I already know I’m the number one bantamweight in the world. I’m coming to the fight as a champion and to finish what I started in the first fight.”
