“I wasn’t throwing my punches as much” – Fabricio Andrade on critical error that cost him in title match vs. Jonathan Haggerty

Reigning and undisputed ONE bantamweight MMA world champion ‘Wonder Boy’ Fabricio Andrade of Brazil admits he wasn’t at his best in his last fight, when he took on British striking superstar Jonathan ‘The General’ Haggerty in a blockbuster megafight in Bangkok.

Andrade challenged Haggerty, at the time the reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing throne at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video.

Unfortunately for ‘Wonder Boy’, Andrade ended up losing via second-round knockout in a terribly one-sided affair at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand.

After the fight, Andrade said he had come into the bout harboring a nagging injury that kept him from operating at peak performance.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Andrade told reporters:

“Maybe if I was a bit more ready, I wasn’t going to give him that space for him to connect that high kick, you know. It was a bit irritating because I wasn’t throwing my punches as much as I would have liked to because I was a bit scared that my arms would fail. Because my arm failed while I was training for that fight many times.”

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What’s next for ‘Wonder Boy’ Fabricio Andrade?

If there’s one thing Fabricio Andrade says he learned from the loss to Jonathan Haggerty, it’s that he will never again compromise his health just to compete.

Coming into a huge fight against Haggerty at less than optimal conditioning proved disastrous for the 26-year-old Brazilian dynamo. ‘Wonder Boy’ says he fully intends on making a return to mixed martial arts to defend his ONE bantamweight MMA world title when he is fully recovered from any lingering ailments.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the news and updates surrounding Fabricio Andrade’s next fight.