The bantamweight belt is now only available to contender Fabricio Andrade at ONE on Prime Video 3.
John Lineker’s weight problems still appear to be a very present concern in his MMA career. During the ONE on Prime Video 3’s official weigh-ins, ‘Hands of Stone’ suffered harsh consequences for missing the promotion’s bantamweight limit by 0.5 pounds and was stripped of his belt, MMA Fighting reports.
This is the sixth time Lineker has missed weight in his career and the first one since he joined ONE in 2019. The last time the 32-year-old had problems with the scale took place in October 2016, when he faced and defeated John Dodson by split decision. Still undefeated at ONE, the Brazilian knocked out Bibiano Fernandes to win the title in March of this year.
In a statement to MMA Fighting, Lineker’s manager reports that an issue with the scale calibration in the fighter’s hotel room previous to weigh-ins caused the miss. It’s a similar explanation to the one provided by UFC champion Charles Oliveira ahead of his bout against Justin Gaethje, when Oliveira missed weight by .5 lbs and was stripped of his lightweight title.
“When a fighter doesn’t make weight at ONE, he goes back to square zero because he has to make weight and pass the hydration test,” Lineker’s manager Alex Davis told MMA Fighting. “That mistake happened because his scale was off in his room, lighter than the official one. When that happens, you have a second attempt to make weight but you have to pass the hydration test again. He couldn’t do it.
“Having two attempts to make weight in three hours is a bit complicated. That’s the rule and we’ll respect it. Fabricio accepted the fight, and we’ll see John’s situation after the fight.”
Although the fight was not cancelled after Lineker’s misadventure, the promotion’s bantamweight belt will only be contested for by challenger Fabricio Andrade, who hit championship weight without issue. The 25-year-old earned the chance to fight for the title after putting together a five-fight win streak under ONE’s banner.
Lineker is expected to take on Andrade at ONE on Prime Video 3’s main event, on October 21st. The card is scheduled to take place at the Axiata Arena, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.