Fabricio Andrade Continues Mastery Of Kwon Won Il With 42-Second TKO To Retain MMA World Title
It didn’t take long for Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade to remind everyone why he’s the undisputed ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion.
On January 24, the Brazilian superstar needed less than a minute to finish #3-ranked Kwon Won Il in their rematch for the division’s top prize at ONE 170: Tawanchai vs. Superbon II inside the sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
The finish was almost the same as in their first fight – a crushing liver shot that folded the South Korean in half – only this time, it was a punch that sucked the life out of Kwon.
From the onset, “Wonder Boy” went looking for that same body kick. Kwon, clearly learning from their first encounter, was ready for it, and he responded by taking the fight to the Brazilian with his punches.
But what he wasn’t ready for was that sneaky left hook to the body, which came in a flash.
After blocking yet another kick, Kwon responded with a hook – but Andrade slipped past and connected with a well-placed left to “Pretty Boy,” which finished their highly anticipated rematch just 42 seconds into the first round.
The lightning-fast victory pushed the Tiger Muay Thai representative to 10-2 overall, and by delivering the eighth stoppage of his MMA career, he also went home with a US$50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Kwon, on the other hand, saw his impressive three-fight winning streak snapped by the same man who last defeated him.
