"Are you afraid to lose in a rematch" - Kwon Won Il calls out bantamweight MMA king Fabricio Andrade in scathing Instagram post
Former ONE bantamweight world title challenger Kwon Won Il has reignited a war of words with current MMA champion Fabricio Andrade in a scathing Instagram post this week.
Back in 2022, the Korean slugger lost to Fabricio Andrade by blistering knockout in the first round of their world title bout at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen. Since then, 'Pretty Boy' has racked up a total of three straight finishes of his own in a bid to get revenge on the bantamweight king.
This week on Instagram, Kwon Won Il intensified his dislike of the champion by calling him out in the following manner below:
"Hey fabricio andrade are you scared? Are you afraid to lose in a rematch? I see you enjoying your vacation and training. Accept the fight and let's give the fans what they want to see! One of us will go to sleep and it will be YOU!"
If indeed a rematch is the next big thing for Kwon, it will give him an opportunity to showcase his stopping power in a way he couldn't before. In the first match, Andrade just didn't give him the space to create anything of major significance before dropping him with a good body kick to the liver.
But after bouncing back to the winning column against Mark Abelardo, Artem Belakh, and Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg, there might be some room in Andrade's heart to give Kwon a second stab at his bantamweight crown.
"He improved a lot on his grappling" - Fabricio Andrade admits that Kwon Won Il has improved his game since TKO world title loss
Fabricio Andrade admitted before that Kwon Won Il might be a different fighter if they meet again in the near future.
Before they met in 2022, Kwon had a reputation for being a knockout artist. Perhaps due to his training as a Taekwondo black belt, the Korean was good at putting opponents away with his type of fighting style. But his grappling skills lack substance where his striking did not.
Prior to challenging Jonathan Haggerty for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title last year, Andrade tipped his hat to Kwon Won Il for focusing on this area of weakness and incorporating it into his game.
If a rematch does happen, 'Wonder Boy' agrees that we'll see a different type of fighter in Kwon.
Speaking to SCMP MMA, Andrade said:
"I think every time when you lose, you kinda like, see more things he could have improved. So, I see the he improved a lot on his grappling, especially like his last fight, he was able to take the Mongolian down, ground and pound him. Against Artem as well."