Fabricio Andrade Wants Rematch with John Lineker: ‘He Took the Easy Way Out’

Fabricio Andrade has unfinished business with John Lineker.

The One on Prime Video 3 main event clash between Andrade and Lineker ended in anticlimactic fashion when an accidental knee to the groin from Andrade rendered his opponent unable to continue at the 2:44 mark of Round 3.

As a result, the bout was declared a no contest, robbing Andrade of an opportunity to claim the bantamweight (145-pound) belt in a bout he was clearly winning. Lineker nonetheless was stripped of the title after failing to make weight one day prior.

“I was very close to the belt. I have no doubt Lineker wouldn’t have reached the fourth round.  It was hard for me, but I have to understand that Lineker used the rules in his favor,” Andrade told Sherdog.com. “To tell you the truth, I came to this fight expecting a more aggressive Lineker, but he recognized my skills and came more defensive, respecting me a lot, not moving forward as he normally does. Because of that I had to change the game plan. If he was more aggressive I knew I would knock him out fast in the first round.”

Andrade revealed that Lineker’s vaunted power was not as much of a factor as he expected.

“I received a few punches from him in the first round, and I was even calmer because I realized that it wouldn't be anything that would shake me,” Andrade said. “When he entered the second round, I pushed to end the fight. I felt that my blows were hurting him, so much so that he came out for the third round with his face badly damaged. I realized that not only him, but his entire team was already desperate. I could hear what the guys were saying. They knew the fight was lost.

“When the first knee came in the third round I told myself, ‘Now I'm going to finish him.’ I ended up getting too excited and hit him with a low blow.”

Andrade added that he heard Lineker’s team advise the UFC veteran not to return to the fight after the foul.

“He was already with his face destroyed, very tired, with the fight lost, and he took the opportunity to use the rules, because he knew that if he came back I would knock him out,” Andrade said. “The fact is that he took the easy way out. But the real thing is that everyone knows that if he came back he wouldn't make it through that round, because he had almost three more minutes to finish the round, so he wouldn't make it from there.”

Andrade is certain, however that the “total rupture” of the genital protector was fabricated in the locker room by Lineker’s team to make an impact on social media.

“When I saw in the cage that the referee came to show me it was just a latch on the protector, and then he and the team finished breaking it and posted a video on Instagram,” Andrade said. “But the truth and what everyone saw was that he couldn't win the fight and took the easy way out. But this is in the past. What interests me now is fight for the belt as soon as possible. If Lineker doesn't want a rematch, let One put another fighter against me for this vacant belt. I've already told ONE that when he's ready I'll make a point of continuing what I started and knocking him out. I just want to fight for the belt as soon as possible.”

Sherdog.com later spoke with Lineker’s manager, Alex Davis, who confirmed that a rematch between Andrade and Lineker is in the works.

“Lineker is still feeling a sharp pain in the scrotum area,” Davis said. “But we hope next week he can start the camp. He wants to fight Fabricio again as soon as possible.”