Fabricio Andrade looks up, sees reigning One Championship bantamweight titleholder John Lineker and lets anyone who will listen know that he wants a piece of the action.
In advance of Andrade’s high-profile collision with the knockout-minded Il, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. Youth was served in his case.
Andrade made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 16 on Sept. 19, 2014, when he was awarded a technical knockout over Markinho Guerreiro in the second round of their encounter at a Mix Fight Brazil event in Brazil. Guerreiro bowed out 2:36 into Round 2. Andrade fought three times as a teenager, compiling a 1-2 record in those bouts.
2. He chose his landing spot wisely.
“Wonder Boy” trains out of Tiger Muay Thai—a respected camp in Phuket, Thailand, that has opened its doors to a number of world-class competitors, from Valentina Shevchenko and Petr Yan to Rafael Fiziev, Mairbek Taisumov and Arman Tsarukyan.
3. He has grown to expect success.
Andrade has not tasted defeat in more than 1,700 days. He has rattled off six straight wins since he lost to Xiaolong Wu at Kunlun Fight 15 on Oct. 3, 2017.
4. His rise to prominence carried a significant degree of difficulty.
The six opponents Andrade has beaten during his current winning streak—Pacatiw, Li Kai Wen, Shoko Sato, Mark Abelardo, LiGe Teng and Xiatiha Zhumatai—have 101 victories between them.
5. He leads a vagabond’s existence.
Andrade has fought in six different countries during his brief but eventful nine-fight career: Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Thailand and Singapore.