Things are boiling over in ONE Championship’s bantamweight division, especially now that a brash, young, and ultra-talented fighter is climbing the ranks.
Second-ranked contender Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade has not been shy in calling out reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion John “Hands of Stone” Lineker – confident that he’ll end the latter’s young title run.
This comes after yet another impressive outing for Andrade, as he knocked out “Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il in the first round with a well-placed body kick at ONE 158 earlier this month.
“Before this fight, already knew I was the toughest challenger. I am the best bantamweight in the division, and that’s why he never chose to reply to me. I told him, ‘I’m going to finish Kwon, and I’m going to finish you next,’” Andrade said.
“Now he knows I’m coming for him, and there is nowhere to hide. I’m going to finish him, and maybe it’s going to be faster than how I finished Kwon.”
Obviously, Lineker didn’t take a liking to those comments.
“Hands of Stone” blasted the 24-year-old for his disrespectful remarks, and he knows the only way to quite him down is by getting into the Circle and proving him wrong.
“I’m getting used to this type of athlete who likes to promote fights by disrespecting opponents. It just goes to show that he’s a disrespectful guy to his opponents. He doesn’t have an ounce of education. He wants to promote fights in wrong way,” Lineker said.
“I don’t care about that. I like to respond inside the cage, in my own way, kicking . But if they (ONE) think he’s worthy to fight for the belt, I’ll educate him, for sure.”
While there’s still no official word on whether Lineker will defend his belt against Andrade next, the hard-hitting World Champion knows that this fight has the chance to be a barnburner should ONE pit them against each other.
“Today, I am the champion. That already answers your question. He’s a good fighter. I don’t belittle him in any way, but he still has a lot to learn,” Lineker said.
“I believe it could be a great fight. A fight between two strikers is certainly very nice to see. It’s what fans like to watch, striking and punching all the time. If this fight against him happens, for sure, it will be a great show with a real chance of being ‘Fight of the Year.’”
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