Fabricio Andrade set for first title defense in January

ONE Championship creates more depth in its big January event by adding the return of champion Fabricio Andrade.

At ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, Andrade (9-2) will defend his bantamweight (145 pounds) title for the first time against a familiar opponent, Won Il Kwon. The promotion directly confirmed the news of the matchup with MMA Junkie.

The event is an Asian primetime card starting at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Andrade achieved his crowning moment by defeating John Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 7 in February 2023. Lineker’s corner stopped the fight after the conclusion of Round 4 due to damage to their fighter’s eye.

Since his big moment, Andrade, 27, has only appeared once in a kickboxing bout against Jonathan Haggerty. It was an attempt to become a two-sport champion in ONE, but things did not go his way as he was stopped in the second round. Now, he’s geared up for his return to MMA competition and will look to defend his title for the first time against Kwon (14-4), who he previously faced and finished.

The first meeting took place at ONE Championship 158 in June 2022. Andrade finished the fight with a liver kick in the first round, which led to back-to-back appearances against Lineker.

Kwon has not lost since. The 29-year-old South Korean fighter has gone on a tear, finishing three consecutive opponents. His most recent appearance was a second-round ground and pounding of Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in January, which has set up his title opportunity.

With the addition, the ONE 170 lineup includes: