Mark “Tyson” Fairtex Abelardo cannot hide his excitement after his inclusion in ONE Championship’s return card.
The Filipino-Kiwi bantamweight will fly the Philippine flag high when he battles Fabricio “Wonderboy” Andrade in a 67-kilogram catchweight contest at ONE: No Surrender set for Friday, July 31, in Bangkok, Thailand.
“It’s amazing to be back to somewhat normal, especially with competing,” Abelardo said.
The 28-year-old is eager to return to winning ways after losing to “Pretty Boy” Troy Worthen at ONE: King of the Jungle in February.
Abelardo got outclassed by the American wrestler from the get-go and could not answer his opponent’s relentless attacks.
Instead of feeling regret, though, the ONE Warrior Series winner looks at the loss as something he can learn from as he moves forward in his career.
“[That loss] was a small bump in the journey. [If] you can’t win them, you just got to get better, prove yourself, and put on a better performance in my next fight. So that’s what I want to do,” he said.
Asked about the match, the Fairtex Training Center standout is confident that he has the tools to come away with a big bounce back win in Bangkok.
“He’s a high-level striker, champion-caliber, but I don’t think he’s on my level overall,” he said.
“It’s MMA, so I’m going to be looking to mix it up whether it’s standing or on the ground.”
ONE Championship returns to live action for the first time in nearly five months with ONE: NO SURRENDER, a closed-door, audience-free card set for Friday, 31 July, in Bangkok, Thailand. Catch the event live and for free by downloading the ONE Super App.
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