Both competitors in the upcoming ONE Championship bantamweight title bout promise to land a knockout blow on their opponent.
Looking to defend his title for the first time will be the hard-hitting John Lineker as he takes on Fabricio Andrade, who has strung together an impressive series of finishes himself.
The title fight will serve as the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3, which takes place at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct. 21. The event streams live on Amazon Prime Video.
Andrade (8-2 MMA, 5-0 ONE) enters his title opportunity against Lineker (35-9 MMA, 5-0 ONE) on a seven-fight win streak, which includes five finishes. His last three bouts did not make it out of the first round. Despite his recent run, Lineker is undeterred and is confident the belt he acquired in March by knocking out Bibiano Fernandes will remain around his waist.
“I think he’s more emotional than confident,” Lineker said through an interpreter during a virtual pre-fight news conference. “Yes, he’s coming as the challenger so he has all the weight on him. I’m the champion. I’m already here, I just have to keep my place. He should focus instead of talking so much, into building himself up for the fight.”
Andrade, 25, says he plans on adding Lineker to the list of names he has knocked out in what will be the biggest fight of his career thus far.
“He don’t need to worry about how prepared I am for this fight,” Andrade said. “He can be sure that I’m going to bring a level of fight that he never saw in his life, and he can be sure that I’m ready to knock him out. The talk, it is what it is. I’m not here to say stuff that is not true. I’m just talking facts. I’m a better fighter and I’m coming to knock him out.”
Lineker, 32, has over four times the professional MMA experience than his opponent, including sharing the cage with some of the best bantamweights the UFC had to offer when he was with that promotion from 2012-19. The champion recognizes Andrade’s skills, but ultimately believes his calling card will be the deciding factor.
“Fabricio is a great striker, great muay Thai fighter, good kicks, good hands, but what I think will make the difference is my heavy hands, my iron fist,” Lineker said. “You guys have seen that when I strike, I strike strong, and it impacts the punch.”
The challenger isn’t concerned about the power coming his way, though. Andrade believes he is equally strong in striking, and his three-straight first-round finishes support his argument.
“I believe I’m as powerful as he is,” Andrade said. “But I think what makes the difference is my fight IQ and my skills. He just got punches, I got punches, I got kicks, I got knees, and I got movement. I got everything I need. So, the power is even, but my skill is way above his.”
“Yeah, I have my punch, but that’s all I need,” Lineker said in response. “This is like football, I just need to score one goal to win, so I just need one good punch to win.”
