Jeremy Pacatiw will be facing a “different species” when he makes his return to The Circle during ONE: FULL CIRCLE on Friday, February 25, 2022 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“The Juggernaut” will be facing Fabricio Andrade, who has been in perfect form since making his promotional debut and is looking to continue his impressive run.
The Brazilian is one of the fastest rising stars on the global stage and his confidence has grown in line with his ascent up the rankings.
Andrade is unbeaten in ONE, going 3-0 with two impressive finishes to his name. His performance made him the fourth-ranked bantamweight mixed martial arts contender in the ONE Official Rankings.
What might be concerning to Pacatiw is Andrade is not giving any credits to Pacatiw’s game.
“Absolutely nothing [will trouble me in this matchup]. I don’t see anything in his game that could get me into trouble in the fight,” Andrade said in a ONE interview. “Of course, he’s training hard, and he could surprise me, but I believe I’ll be ready for anything he can bring to this fight.”
While appearing to be arrogant, the 24-year-old Brazilian has earned the right to say these words. In his last outing in December 2021, he ended “The Underdog” Li Kai Wen’s four-bout winning streak, demolishing inside a single round.
Many thought the Chinese star would be a tough challenge for Andrade, but he proved them wrong. For Andrade, the result is not surprising at all.
“I didn’t feel threatened at any point in the fight. The fight developed exactly as I expected and I got the victory by knockout,” he says. “My striking is on another level, and I feel more confident with every fight. I’m a different species, and all these guys know it. I feel the fear in their eyes when they’re in front of me.”
When pressed that “The Juggernaut” is a talented striker equipped with Team Lakay’s world-famous brand of wushu, looking to build momentum off the back of his debut win over “The Ghost” Chen Rui last July and its a reason to think Andrade will be tested, the Brazilian stood fast he’ll be presented with any problems inside the Circle.
“No matter what his gym does well, he doesn’t want to stand up with me because I’m going to put him to sleep fast,” Andrade says. “He’ll try to put me down. Many have already made the same mistake and paid dearly for it. As I said, I am a different species. These guys don’t want to fight me in a striking fight. I love stand-up fighting. I love hitting and getting a beating, and I can do it all day without getting tired.”
“Wonder Boy” is focused on what he wants to do: (1) not paying much attention the the wealth of talent in front of him in the divisional rankings, and (2) register another quick finish over Pacatiw and continue his rise to the top.
He reiterated the only thing on his mind now is taking out whoever stands in his way.
“I’m going to knock [Pacatiw] out in the first round because he won’t be able to handle all the weapons I’m going to bring to this fight,” Andrade says.
“[The rankings] don’t really matter to me. I’m in the best phase of my career, and my evolution is constant. I will fight any of them at any time, and I know I will win. So they should be worried, not me.”
Andrade sports a 6-2 win-loss record entering the fight. Among his victims is Filipino Mark Abelardo.
On the other hand, Pacatiw is entering the bout with an 11-4 record. After starting with a hot 4-0 start in smaller promotions, Pacatiw made his BRAVE debut and promptly lost 3 of his first 5 fights before turning it around, racking 4 victories in his last 5 fights to accumulate a respectable 6-4 mark during his stay in the Bahrain-based promotion.
Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao acknowledges Pacatiw is coming in as a massive underdog against Andrade but knows fights are won on the canvas and not on paper.
By Armando M. Bolislis
