‘I Haven’t Forgotten’ – Kwon Won Il Is Hungry For Revenge Against Fabricio Andrade In World Title Shot At ONE 170

“Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il is out for redemption and 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold at ONE 170.

On January 24 in Asia primetime, the South Korean knockout artist will battle former foe and current divisional king Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade for the ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title at a sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

The pair of MMA stars first collided in 2022 at ONE 158, where the Brazilian scored a stunning first-round knockout of Kwon to continue his march toward the World Title.

The memory of that stinging defeat has stuck with “Pretty Boy” over the past few years. He told onefc.com:

“I haven’t forgotten. I definitely haven’t forgotten. I recall the beginning, the middle, the end, the sound of breathing. I remember everything about the match. At that time, he was a better fighter than me.”

Since their first encounter, Andrade has gone on to claim the bantamweight MMA crown and establish himself as one of MMA’s pound-for-pound best.

For his part, Kwon has roared back to the win column in spectacularly dominant fashion, finishing three straight opponents to claw his way back to the top and earn another crack at Andrade.

The South Korean is happy about the opportunity to fight for a coveted ONE World Title, but he’s even more excited about his chance for revenge:

“When I lost the first fight, I was really pissed off. I was really pissed off, and even angry, and all I could think about was that I really wanted to meet him again. That’s all I could think about.”

With the taste of defeat still fueling him, the 29-year-old has put in the work to make sure his rematch with Andrade goes differently.

Indeed, Kwon has shown marked improvements to his overall game over his past three appearances, from his ever-evolving grappling to his ruthless boxing attack.

Now just days away from his blockbuster rematch with the bantamweight MMA kingpin, “Pretty Boy” is confident that he’ll showcase a new and improved version of himself at ONE 170:

“I heard Andrade say I’ve become a different beast from before, and he’s absolutely right. I think he’s analyzed me thoroughly because I’ve really become different compared to before. I think I’m really different than before, so he’s really got his facts right about me.”

Kwon Targets Early Finish Of Andrade

While Kwon Won Il has been largely focused on improving his own skills ahead of ONE 170, he has also carefully analyzed Fabricio Andrade and what he’ll bring to the Circle this Friday.

He admits the titleholder possesses dangerous long-range striking but also said that he identified some weaknesses when watching Andrade’s unsuccessful bid for the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title against Jonathan Haggerty.

“Pretty Boy” explained:

“Andrade’s strengths are his kicks and his knees. I feel that he is better at striking from long range. As for his weakness, from his previous match with Jonathan Haggerty, I noticed quite a few things. I saw a few weaknesses with his striking skills. And his grappling skills look really weak. I think those are his weaknesses.”

Certain that he’s identified a clear path to victory, Kwon vowed to return the favor against Andrade, stop him in the opening five minutes, and leave Bangkok as the newly crowned ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion.

He added:

“I will finish him within the first round. I’ll either get a knockout, a submission, or put him to sleep.”