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ONE Championship’s bantamweight division saw some movement in recent days after highly-touted Brazilian knockout artist Fabricio Andrade climbed up to the No. 2 spot, just behind former champion Bibiano Fernandes.
John Lineker, the man who ended Fernandes’ long title reign, was certainly not a fan of Andrade’s method of drumming up interest in his potential opponents by trash talking.
“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 [the] wrong way,” Lineker said.
“I don’t care about that. I like to respond inside the cage, in my own way, kicking [expletive]. But if they (ONE) think he’s worthy to fight for the belt, I’ll educate him, for sure.”
Andrade has been calling out the promotion to give him a title shot against Lineker since he began knocking people out left and right.
His latest victory against Kwon Won Il saw him solidify his chances of competing for the title after he landed a perfectly-placed body kick that had the South Korean groaning in pain.
Without a thought, Andrade called out Lineker in his post-fight interview inside the cage and even went so far as to call his fellow Brazilian a chicken.
The champion also admitted that he has not paid attention to Andrade’s career until his fight against Kwon and “Hands of Stone” was also quick to give him his flowers plus a backhanded comment to close it out.
“What I saw in this fight [against Kwon] is that he knows how to focus. He managed to impose his strategy. I wasn’t impressed because he got a knockout. That can happen in [any] fight, especially between strikers. He’s a good fighter, but he didn’t impress me at all,” Lineker casually mentioned.
“I don’t know if he did enough to earn a title shot. It’s not for me to say if he deserves a title shot. I’m prepared, I’m ready to fight anyone in the division. If ONE thinks he deserves it, I’m here waiting.”
Lineker is currently awaiting who the organization will have him fight next, which could either put him in a collision course with Andrade or see him square off with Fernandes in a rematch.
But despite Lineker having sour thoughts about Andrade, he believes they can produce an instant classic if given the chance.
“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,’” Lineker remarked.
Fabricio Andrade (left) lands a powerful shot on the face of Kwon Won Il (right) during their co-main event matchup at ONE 158 on June 3, 2022.
Photo: ONE Championship
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