John Lineker Planning To ‘Impose’ His Game Against Fabricio Andrade In February 24 Rematch

Former ONE Championship bantamweight king John Lineker has a chance to reclaim his crown on February 24 inside Lumpinee Stadium. “Hands of Stone” will rematch with Fabricio Andrade to get a definitive result after their no-contest last year.

Andrade seemed to be rolling in the first encounter before the errant strike landed low, but Lineker believes that perception was not reality. The Brazilian spoke to ONE and said that the shots landed were telling a different story and were not a problem for him.

“I watched my fight against him again. Inside the cage, it’s one thing. Watching it on TV you have another vision. The fact is that I let him land a lot of jabs, which ended up hurting my face a lot. I wasn’t feeling his punches so much. I wasn’t afraid of his punches, so I took those jabs and ended up getting a pretty bruised face,” said Lineker.

“Other than that, the only thing that hurt was the knee to the rib and then he landed the knee in my groin. If it weren’t for that illegal move, he would have had to fight me for five rounds. And it would be a war until the end.”

With the first match out of the way, Lineker expects a different story to be written in the rematch. Having experienced “Wonder Boy” inside the Circle, Lineker believes he can exploit some deficiencies in his compatriot’s game.

“I noticed some gaps in [Andrade’s] game. I also noticed his strengths, so in some way, it will help and I certainly won’t take as many hits as I did in the last fight. So, the fact that I’ve already fought him, I believe it can help with some aspects of the fight, like his movement and attacks,” said “Hands of Stone.”

For the rematch, Lineker is expecting another hard-fought battle. He is still preparing to go five full rounds with his fellow countryman in a thrilling battle, and he still believes he will emerge as the better man. Known for his unrelenting style, Lineker is telling fans they should continue to expect him to push the pace against the 25-year-old.

“When I close my eyes, I see myself imposing my game, going up all the time, nonstop. And that’s what will happen. I’m training for this. One thing I never do in a fight is back off. I’m going to press all the time, and I’m going to do what I know how to do best, which is to fight,” said Lineker.

“This fight will show that he didn’t beat me and that he wasn’t the one who took my belt. But like I said, none of us have anything to prove. We’re going to enter the cage, do our best, and in the end, we’ll see who will leave with their arms raised.”

ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II will air on Prime Video on February 24. The event begins live and free for all U.S. and Canadian Amazon Prime subscribers at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST.

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