"It will be a wonderful opportunity" - Fabricio Andrade keen on featherweight switch to achieve two-division supremacy
ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade has dreams of becoming a two-division titleholder and is eyeing going a weight class higher at featherweight to make a go for it.
'Wonder Boy' became world champion when he claimed the vacant bantamweight belt with a fourth-round TKO of former divisional king John Lineker in their title clash in February last year.
In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the 26-year-old Brazilian champion shared that his world title push is far from done, and is looking for championship belts to target, including the featherweight gold currently held by Tang Kai of China.
The Evolve MMA/Tiger Muay Thai standout said:
"It will be a wonderful opportunity for me to become a two-division world champion. That would be a great dream or goal for me. And I don't think I'll have a lot disadvantage of moving up."
Fabricio Andrade made an attempt to become a double ONE world champion in his last fight in November, vying for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing world title against the division's Muay Thai king Jonathan Haggerty in an all-champion clash.
However, he fell short when he was knocked out by 'The General' in the second round. Despite that, he remains committed to pursuing more championship success.
Meanwhile, Tang Kai became the undisputed ONE featherweight MMA world champion by stopping erstwhile interim titleholder Thanh Le by TKO in the third round of their unification bout at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.
Replay of ONE 166 is available for free to North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.
Fabricio Andrade looks to have a standout year in 2024
After an up-and-down run last year, Brazilian top fighter Fabricio Andrade is looking to have a standout year in 2024, marked by winning more matches and belts, including defending the ONE bantamweight MMA world title he currently holds.
The Fortaleza native opened last year by claiming the vacant bantamweight gold with a fourth-round TKO of former world champion John Lineker in February. However, he ended his year in November by falling short in his quest to also become the bantamweight kickboxing king, losing to the division's Muay Thai champion Jonathan Haggerty by KO in the first round.
For this year, Fabricio Andrade wants to have more success and compete in more high-stakes matches. He shared in the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA:
"I need to go out there and perform like I need to perform, to win belts and win championships. And, of course, defend my tilte, too."
Prior to losing to Haggerty last time around, Andrade won his first six matches since making his promotional debut in July 2020.