ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade is confident that he will add to his belt collection at ONE Fight Night 15 on Oct 7.
“Wonder Boy” faces ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty at the blockbuster event at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.
Interestingly, the pair will clash for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title.
Despite his success in MMA, Andrade revealed that claiming world titles in multiple sports has long been on his radar and even hinted that he might not be satisfied with just two.
“I have the chance to do something that nobody has done yet — to be the first athlete to be world champion in MMA and kickboxing. And that’s my biggest motivation for this fight,” he said.
“By becoming world champion in two sports, I’ll be making history. Of course, the Muay Thai belt will also be available, but I don’t have plans for that yet. I’m taking it one step at a time. My focus now is on the kickboxing belt, but it is undoubtedly a possibility in the future.”
Before the Brazilian star can think too far into the future, he will have to halt the momentum of a red-hot Haggerty.
“The General” shocked the world back in April when he crushed long-time ONE bantamweight world champion Nong-O Hama inside one round to become a ONE world champion for the second time.
The task of defeating the British star is not lost on Andrade, who is respectful of his upcoming opponent’s skills.
“Haggerty is a great opponent. He’s fought against some of the biggest names in Muay Thai. He was once champion of the flyweight division and now he is the ONE’s bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, so I’m sure it will be a great fight,” he said.
“He is a very technical athlete. He plays well on his opponent’s mistakes. He reads the fight well. His strong points are the elbows, but in this fight, he won’t be able to use them because it’s not allowed in the kickboxing rules.”
Andrade is no stranger to the striking arts himself. Before fully committing his time to mixed martial arts, the 25-year-old compiled an ultra-impressive 40-3 mark in Muay Thai and kickboxing, making him a perfect fit for the multi-discipline ONE Championship format.
While he has been dedicated to MMA competition since 2019, Andrade believes his kickboxing experience will hold him in good stead against a Muay Thai specialist in Haggerty.