Fabricio Andrade, also known as “Wonderboy,” is pursuing the opportunity to become a two-sport champion, crossing over from MMA to strike fighting, by challenging ONE Muay Thai champion Jonathan Haggerty for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing title, despite the lower financial incentive.
Fabricio Andrade, also known as “Wonderboy,” is a fighter constantly seeking challenges. After capturing the ONE Championship bantamweight title from John Lineker in February, he is now set to compete for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing title against Jonathan Haggerty in Bangkok on Friday night.
Originally, Andrade was approached to face Petchtanong Petchfergus for the belt. However, Petchtanong was suspended and stripped of the title after testing positive for anabolic steroids. Despite being more active in MMA, Andrade saw the opportunity to become a two-sport champion as intriguing. He stated, “Petchtanong ended up failing an anti-doping test, and they switched the opponent.”
Although Andrade’s MMA record stands at 9-2 with one no-contest, he boasts an impressive kickboxing record of 29-1. While many may argue that Haggerty has the advantage due to the similarities between Muay Thai and kickboxing, Andrade believes his extensive experience in kickboxing gives him the upper hand. He explained, “He loses many weapons when he changes styles… I always focus more on the striking.”
Despite the lower purse in kickboxing compared to MMA, Andrade is motivated by the challenge and the opportunity to make history as a two-sport champion at ONE. He plans to return to MMA after the kickboxing challenge and is open to pursuing more belts in the future, including Muay Thai, boxing, and potentially even moving up a weight division.
Regarding his MMA title, Andrade sees a potential matchup with Lineker, but he believes it would be more interesting to fight a new challenger as he has already defeated Lineker twice. Instead, he anticipates a fight with Won Il Kwon, who recently won his last fight. However, he acknowledges that Lineker will always be a tough contender and doesn’t rule out a trilogy fight in the future.
Overall, Andrade’s drive for challenges, the allure of making history, and his willingness to explore different combat sports make him a formidable and ambitious fighter within the ONE Championship.