ONE Fight Night 3: He Took The Easy Way Out - Fabricio Andrade on John Lineker No Contest

Singapore, October 26: Fabricio Andrade has said John Lineker took the easy way out after the former champion missed weight for their main event meeting at ONE Fight Night 3: Lineker vs. Andrade that also ended in a No Contest.

The ONE Bantamweight World Title was on the line only for Andrade as Lineker had missed weight and was stripped of the belt. The title, however, still remains vacant as the fight was ruled a no contest due to an inadvertent low knee that rendered Lineker unable to continue.

It was an anti-climactic ending to what had been an enthralling contest at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 22.

With Lineker's right eye almost swollen shut, Andrade appeared to be taking control of the fight and hurt "Hands of Stone" with a knee to the body. His attempt to follow up landed low, although the 25-year-old felt aggrieved that the fight was not allowed to continue.

"The fight didn't end as I expected. I was feeling very comfortable, very confident in the fight, and I made a mistake and hit him with a low blow. Honestly, I don't think it was enough to make him stop the fight, but he knew in the third [round] I just dropped him with a body knee," Andrade said.

During his five-minute recovery period, Lineker removed his cup, which appeared to have been broken by the low blow. Andrade, however, is not so sure.

"He took the easy way out. He brought out a broke cup. Nobody can guarantee that it was actually from the fight because he was acting like he knew the cup was broken. Honestly, I don't believe I broke the cup, maybe it was already broken," he said.

Given the competitive nature of the fight, an Andrade-Lineker rematch would seem the most likely way forward for the division. But Andrade, once again, has his doubts.

"The guy has been running from me for a long time. He comes in here, doesn't make weight, and now he gave up on the fight like that. It's frustrating for me. I don't believe he wants to face me again. If he wants a rematch, he can rematch me anytime," Andrade said.

"You can see I'm fresh, I took no damage from this fight but I want to be active. I want to fight as soon as possible, and I don't think this guy wants a rematch with me. So, maybe let's put another guy [against me] for the title, because he couldn't even make weight, so now the title is vacated."

With or without Lineker, the goal for Andrade remains the same - to capture the ONE Bantamweight World Title. As far as the Marrok Force/HIIT Studio representative is concerned, he is already the champion. He just needs another body opposite him to be able to finally claim the belt.

"If he don't want to fight - and I believe he don't want anymore, especially after I picked him apart like that - give me another guy. I just want to get my title. Everybody knows that I am the champion. I proved in this fight that me and Lineker are not on the same level."

Source: Media Release