ONE Championship boss Chatri Sityodtong feels he has the best MMA bantamweight in the world across any promotion in Fabricio Andrade.
Brazil’s “Wonder Boy” reminded everyone of his class with a 42-second TKO of Kwon Won Il in the co-main event of ONE 170 on Friday night, in front of a sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok.
It was, remarkably, the first defence of a title he won in February 2023, with only a kickboxing loss to Jonathan Haggerty on his record in the meantime.
The 27-year-old is back on track now though and ONE chairman and CEO Chatri gave him his backing at the post-event press conference.
“Actually right now, for me, I would say he is the best bantamweight MMA champion globally, if you look at his talent,” Chatri said.
“He was out for a while with a very serious injury – his whole left arm was paralysed, he couldn’t move it. So I wasn’t sure which Fabricio would show up today.
“But this was the best Fabricio we’ve ever seen. The game plan … Kwon came in thinking he could pressure Fabricio and knock him out.
“Kwon is a killer boxer as well, and Fabricio responded by going toe-to-toe and really showed where his level of striking is compared to Kwon.”
Andrade was certainly glad to be back, and enjoyed a brief private chat on stage with Chatri once the cameras were turned off at the presser.
He was also greeted by the legendary Demetrious Johnson as he stepped out of the Circle, with “Mighty Mouse” praising his stunning finish of South Korea’s Kwon.
The only problem for Andrade may be a lack of possible opponents for his next fight, having cleaned out most of his top contenders already.
“There’s not a name now that I can say I want to fight, but there are a lot of people in the division, up and coming fighters, so it’s up to Chatri. Whoever he wants me to fight, I will fight,” Andrade said.
“Right now, I just want to be the best I can be,” he added. “I feel like I’m the best bantamweight in the world, like Chatri said, and I’m going to prove it.
“I need to keep putting in performances like I did tonight – I can’t just have good fights. I need to finish my opponents in a nice way. Doing that, I will prove I’m the best in the world across any organisation.”
