“I want to fight more” - Bantamweight MMA king Fabricio Andrade itching to get back into action after a slew of injuries in 2023
After being plagued by injuries, reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade is focused on getting healthy and returning to action as soon as possible.
Andrade's 2023 got off to a pretty spectacular start, scoring a dominant victory over John 'Hands of Stone' Lineker to claim the bantamweight MMA belt at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video. He returned in November, gunning for a second world title, meeting current ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty for the then-vacant bantamweight kickboxing crown.
Unfortunately, Fabricio Andrade was unsuccessful, suffering a brutal second-round knockout. 'Wonder Boy' later revealed that he went into the contest dealing with a handful of minor injuries.
Speaking with the South China Morning Post, Andrade revealed that he is still dealing with an injury but is laser-focused on getting back to 100% so he can get back to work.
"I think I would like to fight as soon as I'm healthy," Andrade said. "I want to fight more, you know. After I broke my hand, I had a very long layoff and now I'm injured again, so it's been very tough for me to stay active, but just now I'm fully focused."
Fabricio Andrade maintains a perfect record in MMA under the ONE banner
Though Fabricio Andrade came up short in his first kickboxing bout under the ONE Championship banner, 'Wonder Boy' is still undefeated in mixed martial arts since debuting with the promotion in July 2020. Kicking off his run with a second-round submission over Mark Abelardo, Andrade added a decision victory over Shoko Sato before rattling off three straight KOs against Li Kai Wen, Jeremy Pacatiw, and Kwon Won Il.
Those victories earned him his eventual shot at John Lineker, though after their first meeting in late 2022 ended via no-contest, 'Wonder Boy' would have to wait until February 2023 before capturing his first 26 pounds of ONE gold.
Who would you like to see Fabricio Andrade put his bantamweight title against when he returns to the Circle later this year?