Andrew Leone is no stranger to the fight scene here in Asia, having competed in several regional MMA promotions in his career thus far. The younger brother of current Bellator MMA fighter Anthony Leone (12-5), Andrew boasts a resume that holds wins over the likes of reigning ONE FC Bantamweight title-holder Soo Chul Kim, and current UFC fighter, Kyung Ho Kang.

Phuket Top Team’s Andrew Leone talks about fighting Geje Eustaquio in ONE FC, and more

With that said, the American native sealed a deal with ONE Fighting Championship, Asia’s most prominent MMA promotion, 2 years ago, and has been slated to compete in the latest installment of the Singapore-based organization, titled ‘Rise to Power’ that’s set to take place on May 31st in Manilla, Philippines.

The  Phuket Top Team native looked enthusiastic about competing in ONE FC, but admitted it was frustrating at times to wait for his promotional debut. Leone, however, took pride in competing for ROAD Fighting Championship, facing some of the best fighters that South Korea had to offer:

“Yeah I’m excited. I signed with them over 2 years ago, and I’ve fought in Korea a couple of times for ROAD FC while waiting for my promotional debut here in ONE FC. We didn’t really get a fight so we started looking elsewhere.”

“It was frustrating and then it wash’t because I was getting high-profile fights. I fought about 5 Koreans, like in those 2 years. I fought Soo Chul Kim and this UFC guy called Kyung Ho Kang. I fought him (Kang) twice, and fought Min Jung Song so not being in ONE FC hasn’t  been the worst thing. ROAD FC is a great promotion, but I’m excited to be making my debut here in ONE.”

Although the American is a Flyweight competitor by trait, he has also competed at 135-lbs in his professional MMA career. 125-lbs fighters are common in the Asian region although most of them may not have the skill to face the likes of Leone at the highest level. With ONE FC, however, Leone may be getting the right fights at his preferred weight class. And Andrew’s grateful for that:

“It feels good. I was always a Flyweight but then when opportunity presents itself especially like the ROAD FC Bantamweight Grand Prix, I couldn’t say no. And that was the last 3 fights I had. So I was really grateful for that opportunity and I’m excited to go back to my natural weight.”

Team Lakay’s Geje Eustaquio (4-1) has been tasked to welcome Andrew Leone to ONE Fighting Championship on May 31st at ONE FC 9: Rise to Power. The American was respectful of Eustaquio’s abilities, and even described the Filipino as ‘an Animal’:

“He’s an animal man. He’s got a lot of big wins going for him – he’s a great athlete, he’s got good stand-up; And he looked really good in his last fight against Alex Silva. I think Alex Silva was a little green, you know, maybe it was his first (or second) fight. He (Silva) gave up a lot of good positions that he didn’t finish him (Eustaquio) with. But Geje man, he’s an animal and I have a lot of respect for him.”

Despite having a loss on his MMA record, Eustaquio is yet to be stopped in professional MMA competition. Leone, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by that:

“No, I like that. My first 3 fights – Soo Chul Kim was, I think altogether 3-0 when I fought him. And then I fought this other Korean, Samuel Lee, from Team Posse who was 5-0. I like being the guy. That’s why I was calling out Rey Docyogen for a while, you know. I like being that  guy who stops the guy when they can’t be stopped.”

Andrew was also confident in his skill-sets and admitted he had been training diligently to improve in all facets of Mixed Martial Arts. Although Leone started off as a wrestler, he believes that his grappling prowess will confuse Eustaquio, if he fakes takedowns/shots and what not:

“That’s one of my instincts in the past. You know as a wrestler coming from a wrestling background, you would want to eventually move past your instincts and work on a well-rounded game. So that’s what I’ve been working on in the last 10 months. Hopefully, I’m looking to stand with Geje and get a TKO. ”

“Actually it helps out because I got an advantage where I know these guys are thinking about the takedown. I know they’re thinking about the shot. So when someone’s thinking about the shot, my hands will automatically get better. Because I can fake the shot, get level change, and stand-up and strike a lot better.”

I was hoping Leone would have some sort of a Chael Sonnen approach to his fights. I was wrong, however, and once again, the Phuket Top Team native was respectful of his opponent. He also talked about what fans can expect to see from him on May 31st:

“It’s competition and we’re both athletes. We’re just going in there to compete and yeah, I’m excited to go in there and get the win.”

“Hopefully some throws, you know, that would be cool. Some good Boxing work, and a quick finish. I’m pretty aggressive; I don’t mean to be, and the plan is to always take time, fill out the positions but my instinct is to always move forward so we’ll see.”

As for training camp?

“It’s been going well. I’m training with my brother, and the other bunch of animals at Phuket Top Team.”

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