Will #2-ranked contender Stephen “The Sniper” Loman finally face reigning ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade?
Andrade is open to the idea, especially since they were on a collision course before he tried his luck at two-sport supremacy by challenging Jonathan “The General” Haggerty for the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title.
Now it all depends on what ONE Championship wants for him next.
“I was meant to fight Loman last time, so if ONE Championship wants me to do that, I will do it. But it’s up to ONE Championship and Chatri [Sityodtong],” he said after beating #3-ranked contender Kwon Won Il once more at ONE 170: Tawanchai vs. Superbon II this past Friday.
The good news for Loman and all the bantamweight challengers is that Andrade plans to focus solely on MMA moving forward.
Knowing just how good he can get if he applies himself to this sport alone, the Brazilian wants to put all his energy into working on his MMA game, which also means more title defenses.
“I would choose to stay active in MMA. I think I still have a lot of room for improvement,” Andrade said.
“I think I am not at my best yet. I want to defend my belt at least three times more this year and whoever ONE Championship wants me to fight, I will fight.”
In his rematch against Kwon, Andrade showed just how much he’s progressing, especially if their first fight was a barometer.
This time around, Andrade needed just 42 seconds to finish the dangerous South Korean and end his red-hot winning streak at three.
With Kwon seemingly prepared for his body kicks, it was a left hook that battered his liver this time, folding Kwon once more.
That type of performance only proved ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong’s earlier proclamations that Andrade is the best in his division – now it’s all about continuing to live up to it.
“Right now I just want to be the best I can be. I feel like what Chatri said, I am the best bantamweight in the world. And I want to prove that. And to prove that I need to keep putting performances like I did tonight,” he said.
“I cannot just like have good fights. I need to go there and finish my opponents in a nice way. And doing that, I will prove that I'm the best bantamweight in the world across any organization.”
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