ONE: Abelardo vows to redeem self with big win in Thailand

Mark Fairtex Abelardo. ONE CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Mark Abelardo won’t settle for just a victory against Fabricio Andrade in their 67-kilogram catchweight bout in ONE: No Surrender on Friday.

The Filipino-Kiwi is coming off a loss to Troy Worthen in his last outing five months ago in Singapore and he hopes to put that disappointing result behind with a stunning bounce back performance in Thailand.

“It’s just like a small bump in the journey,” Abelardo said.

“You know you can’t win them all, you just got to get better, prove yourself and put on a better performance in the next fight and that’s what I plan to do.”

Abelardo also doesn’t intend to go the distance against the debuting Andrade. And he is determined to do just that by applying the pressure from the get-go.

“I’ll be looking to mix it all up, both standing and on the ground, just pressure him everywhere and just look to break him,” he said. “I want to utilize a lot of my wrestling, take him down when the opportunity comes and just wear him out and look from the finish from there.

“I want to look for a finish like I always do. Wear him down, put some pressure on him and look to finish him in the second or if not, the third.”

The Bangkok event is ONE’s first flagship event since the coronavirus pandemic.