Former UFC bantamweight John Lineker has discussed his move to ONE Championship.
John Lineker has discussed his delight after signing to ONE Championship following his release from the UFC.
Lineker (31-9) was unexpectedly released from the UFC last week. The 29-year-old had lost just two of his last ten fights, one of which was to former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw. Talking to MMA Fighting, Lineker spoke about his new journey with ONE.
“I’m really happy to sign with ONE,” Lineker said. “I believe I’ll be very welcome there. They love strikers over there in Asia, so it’s gonna be a great new home for me. I’m happy and excited.”
A fan favourite during his time in the UFC for his reckless and aggressive fighting style, Lineker touched on the different MMA ruleset ONE has in which grounded knee strikes are legal.
“I’m a brawler, you know? I love this stuff,” Lineker said. “The more exciting, the better. It’s going to be really exciting to fight there.”
Although he competed at bantamweight in the last part of his UFC career, Lineker used to fight at flyweight but after missing weight several times the Brazilian was forced to move up in weight. The former longtime UFC flyweight champion Johnson now fights at 135-pounds in ONE, and with Lineker now competing at 145-pounds, he welcomed the superfight.
“If they want to make this superfight, I’m here,” Lineker said. “I’m here to fight him. It’s going to be the opportunity that I didn’t have before. Finally.”