ONE Championship: Demetrious Johnson praises Fabricio Andrade ahead of ‘great fight’ with John Lineker
- Andrade will challenge his fellow Brazilian Lineker for bantamweight gold at ONE on Prime Video 3 on October 21 in Kuala Lumpur
- Johnson, the new ONE flyweight champ, says 24-year-old ‘could really draw out some of Lineker’s big shots’ with the right game plan
Fabricio Andrade’s growing fan base now includes one of the greatest fighters of all time: Demetrious Johnson.
Andrade is slated to challenge his fellow Brazilian John Lineker for the ONE Championship bantamweight title at ONE on Prime Video 3 on October 21 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Ahead of the fight, the 24-year-old found himself on the receiving end of some high praise from Johnson, a legendary former UFC champion and as of last month, the king of ONE’s jam-packed flyweight MMA division.
“Fabricio Andrade, he’s [expletive] good,” Johnson, 36, told ONE’s official website.
“I really like Andrade. I really, really do. I think it’s the way he comes out and fights. He pushes the pace, he takes risks. I think that fight against John Lineker is going to be a great fight.”
At this point, there is no denying Andrade’s ability. The Brazilian has won all five of his fights under the ONE banner, with just one of those fights going the distance.
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Yet he will have his hands full against the bantamweight champion Lineker, who is known for his vicious punching power – power that was on all full display when he knocked out MMA legend Bibiano Fernandes to win the title earlier this year.
Johnson did not make a prediction for the fight, but noted that it could come down to Andrade’s ability to weather Lineker’s firepower.
“I think it’s going to come down to when John Lineker’s going to land his punches, right? He’s going to land his big punches,” the American said.
“Obviously, he has the power to knock out anybody, so it’s going to come down to whether Fabricio Andrade can, one, take the power, and two, utilise John Lineker’s big swings.”
One way or the other, Johnson is expecting a knockout when the two Brazilians collide for bantamweight gold in Kuala Lumpur.
“I think if Fabricio Andrade gets busy moving, has good footwork, good movement, and good feints, he could really draw out some of Lineker’s big shots,” he said. “But I know someone’s going to get knocked down in that fight. That’s all I can say.”
Andrade (8-2) was last in action at ONE 158 in June, when he stopped South Korean contender Kwon Won-il with a body shot in the first round. Other highlights of his time in ONE include wins over Jeremy Pacatiw, Li Kai Wen, and Shoko Sato.
We last saw Johnson (24-4-1) in action in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 1 when he knocked out Adriano Moraes to become the promotion’s flyweight champion. It was a redemptive win for the former UFC champ, who had been knocked out by Moraes a little over a year earlier.
