Fabricio Andrade set for first title protection in January

ONE Championship creates extra depth in its huge January occasion by including the return of champion Fabricio Andrade.

At ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at Influence Enviornment in Bangkok, Thailand, Andrade (9-2) will defend his bantamweight (145 kilos) title for the primary time towards a well-recognized opponent, Received Il Kwon. The promotion instantly confirmed the information of the matchup with MMA Junkie.

The occasion is an Asian primetime card beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Andrade achieved his crowning second by defeating John Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 7 in February 2023. Lineker’s nook stopped the combat after the conclusion of Spherical 4 attributable to injury to their fighter’s eye.

Since his huge second, Andrade, 27, has solely appeared as soon as in a kickboxing bout towards Jonathan Haggerty. It was an try to change into a two-sport champion in ONE, however issues didn’t go his manner as he was stopped within the second spherical. Now, he’s equipped for his return to MMA competitors and can look to defend his title for the primary time towards Kwon (14-4), who he beforehand confronted and completed.

The primary assembly passed off at ONE Championship 158 in June 2022. Andrade completed the combat with a liver kick within the first spherical, which led to back-to-back appearances towards Lineker.

Kwon has not misplaced since. The 29-year-old South Korean fighter has gone on a tear, ending three consecutive opponents. His most up-to-date look was a second-round floor and pounding of Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in January, which has arrange his title alternative.

With the addition, the ONE 170 lineup contains:

• Fabricio Andrade vs. Received Il Kwon – for bantamweight title
• Tawanchai PK Saenchai vs. Superbon Banchamek – for muay Thai light-weight title
• Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Nico Carrillo – for muay Thai featherweight title
• Saeksan Or Kwanmuang vs. Soe Lin Oo
• Suriyanlek Por Yenying vs. Thant Zin