ONE bantamweight world champion Fabricio Andrade has reached the peak of success in his MMA career after beating former bantamweight king John Lineker at ONE Fight Night 7 in February 2023 with a fourth-round stoppage.
As much as he wants to defend his world title against consensus challenger Stephen Loman, who currently sits as the No. 2-ranked contender in the weight class, the Brazilian knockout specialist accepted the challenge of ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title.
This epic champion-versus-champion mega fight goes down on October 6 inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok at ONE Fight Night 15.
‘Wonder Boy’ fully transitioned to MMA in 2014, but he has enormous Muay Thai and kickboxing experience because he first competed in the two disciplines before jumping to the mixed martial arts arena.
Speaking to ONE Championship recently, Andrade is confident that he has the upper hand against Haggerty and that the ruleset for this upcoming showdown will not be an issue because he is constantly honing his striking arsenal:
“I think I have a complete advantage over him in kickboxing because I’m more used to the rules, even if I haven’t fought in those rules for a while. I never stopped training my striking.”
Andrade’s combined record of 40 wins and three losses from his Muay Thai and kickboxing days was solid proof that he is more than capable of facing anyone in any striking match.
The 26-year-old also expressed his desire to not just beat ‘The General,’ but finish him off to become the newest member of the rarefied list of athletes who became two-sport world champions.
Catch ONE Fight Night 15 on October 6, as it is free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.