ONE Championship recently held its pre-event interviews for “ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II,” which broadcasts live via Amazon Prime Video on February 24.
The headline attraction will be the highly anticipated rematch between former bantamweight king John Lineker (35-9) and fellow Brazilian MMA star Fabricio Andrade (8-2) – with the vacant ONE bantamweight world title up for grabs.
Lineker didn’t show up for the interview, but “Wonder Boy” was on hand, as was ONE featherweight muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK.Saenchai, his opponent Jamal Yusupov, American grappling phenom Danielle Kelly, and her opposite number Ayaka Miura.
Here are some of the best quotes from each athlete in attendance.
Fabricio Andrade
In the absence of his heated rival, Andrade was full of confidence when asked how he plans to get the job done against Lineker this time around.
“If he comes to fight, I will knock him out at the beginning of the fight. But in the first fight, we saw that he respected my game. He was walking back a lot and trying to wrestle me, something that we agreed we wouldn’t do before the fight,” Andrade said.
“So, coming into this fight, I’m not going to give him any chances. I’m going to take my time. I have 25 minutes to finish him. I don’t believe I need 25 minutes to finish him. But I’m just going to be patient, and I’m going to be ready to knock him out in any [round] of this fight.”
Tawanchai PK.Saenchai
Tawanchai cut a relaxed figure as he answered questions about his world title showdown with Yusupov.
The featherweight muay Thai king is not fazed by the Turkish knockout artist’s power.
“I have faced a lot of heavy hitters in my life, and also during the training, I have trained with heavy hitters. There’s nothing to worry about. I am part of that,” he said.
“Also, regarding the differences between the ring and the cage, I don’t think there is much difference. I don’t worry about it. I’m not worried about it.”
Jamal Yusupov
ONE featherweight muay Thai world title challenger Yusupov was respectful of his opponent’s skills. However, the 39-year-old veteran believes that he is up to the task and ready to dethrone the Thai prodigy.
“I wouldn’t say that he’s less experienced. In Thailand, I know that they start fighting from a young age. I started my Thai boxing career when I was 21. So, I believe we are more or less equal, but he’s good,” the Turkish challenger said.
“He’s stylistically strong. He is very fast on his legs. He’s very speedy. So, it’s going to be a very interesting fight. I’m happy to have it and be challenged.”
Danielle Kelly
Kelly was also a picture of confidence, openly debating when she plans to finish her Japanese rival.
“I’m just debating with myself if I want to keep the match short. Just submit her right away or make it fun, but you know, I’m going to be way lighter than her, so I don’t know if I want to play with her too much,” she said.
“She’s really good. She’s strong at what she does. Yeah, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Ayaka Miura
Miura, while also respectful toward her opponent, believes her size and judo skills will prevail on fight night.
“Danielle Kelly is a great fighter and, you know, she is an all-rounder in this submission grappling match,” she said.
“Still, at the same time, Danielle Kelly doesn’t have any special techniques because all her skill is at a high level, but that means she doesn’t have a specialty. I think my physical strength and the judo skills I use in MMA are better than Danielle’s, and I can show it in this grappling match.”
