Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
John Lineker missed weight in more than 25 percent of his UFC fights, but he had no issues hitting the scale for his ONE Championship debut in October.
John Lineker is a happy camper when it comes to cutting weight in ONE Championship.
UFC President Dana White accused Lineker of being unprofessional with weight-cutting, a contributing factor to his unexpected UFC release last year. Lineker – who missed weight in five of 16 UFC fights – has since made ONE Championship his home. ‘Hands of Stone’ successfully made weight in a winning effort against Muin Gaturov in October.
“That was one of the main reasons I signed with ONE,” Lineker told Bloody Elbow, speaking of the promotion’s weight-cutting procedure. “It was a good decision. ONE’s weigh-in system is very good. It ensures everyone comes in and nobody is way bigger than anyone else. Everyone is healthy. I felt great. Really happy. I hope other MMA events pick up on that weigh-in system because I can tell it’s a winner.”
There are nits to pick in ONE Championships claims for having a more effective weight-cutting system, but one of the notable benefits seems to be that fighters are required to compete closer to their walk-around weight.
Lineker poked the proverbial bear when publicly asking for his UFC release on Twitter. Reflecting on that decision some 11 months later, Lineker believes he made the right call.
My last opponent fought 4 times in a year. He already has another fight! Sean likes him! I have fought only 4 times since 2016! I need to fight! If you dont like me or my style just let me go!!! @MMAjunkie @seanshelby @danawhite @Alexdavismma @ufc @MMAFighting @sherdogdotcom
— John Lineker (@johnlineker) May 29, 2019
“When things become stuck, we need to try and evolve,” he asserted. “I think it was a good decision. I’m very happy with ONE and now I want to focus on my main objective which is becoming ONE Championship champ.”
Lineker was in talks to fight heavy-puncher Kai Wen Li (10-4) in his sophomore ONE Championship fight, but like most everything else those plans have changed. Eager to get out of his house, Lineker is looking forward to slugging it out sooner than later.
“Fighting is fun. It’s way harder to be locked in with a bunch of people,” he quipped.