Tag: John Lineker

John Lineker Open To ‘Great Fight’ With Demetrious Johnson

John LinekerJohn Lineker would be more than willing to fight Demetrious Johnson in the future. Both fighters never competed during their time in the UFC flyweight division. But with the pair now at ONE Championship, a meeting is certainly possible even if Lineker fights one weight class above him at bantamweight. For now, there is no […]

John Lineker

John Lineker would be more than willing to fight Demetrious Johnson in the future.

Both fighters never competed during their time in the UFC flyweight division. But with the pair now at ONE Championship, a meeting is certainly possible even if Lineker fights one weight class above him at bantamweight.

For now, there is no word on what Johnson will do next as he is coming off a knockout defeat to Adriano Moraes in their flyweight title fight earlier this year.

That result didn’t really surprise Lineker as he trains with Moraes at American Top Team, and he believes a fight between himself and “Mighty Mouse” would be a great one.

“For me, it would be a great fight,” John Lineker told BJPenn.com. “I’m here to fight so if they tell me to fight Demetrious Johnson, I’m ready.

“I’m not surprised because I know Adriano. He’s my friend, he’s my training partner, we train together at American Top Team so I knew that he could win against Demetrious Johnson. I knew he could beat him, he’s a great fighter.”

John Lineker Challenging For Title Next

Of course, Lineker is challenging for the bantamweight title next which is currently held by Bibiano Fernandes. Fernandes happens to be a training partner of Johnson’s and this fact was not lost on Lineker.

“It’s funny because he’s training with Bibiano [Fernandes] and I’m training with Adriano so let’s see who the best team is as I’m gonna fight Bibiano and we’re gonna see,” he added.

If Lineker were to become the next ONE bantamweight champion, perhaps he could defend his belt against Johnson next or move down for a flyweight super fight.

Who do you think would win between Demetrious Johnson and John Lineker?

ONE on TNT 3: How to Watch, TV Info for John Lineker vs. Troy Worthen

ONE Championship continues its “ONE on TNT” series Wednesday with John Lineker taking on American Troy Worthen. Lineker, formerly at UFC before debuting for ONE in October 2019, is the top ranked challenger to Bibiano Fernandes’ title…

ONE Championship continues its “ONE on TNT” series Wednesday with John Lineker taking on American Troy Worthen. Lineker, formerly at UFC before debuting for ONE in October 2019, is the top ranked challenger to Bibiano Fernandes’ title…

One on TNT III: Main Card Predictions

ONE Championship returns to TNT for a third consecutive week this Wednesday, and the Singapore-based martial arts organization will do so with an alluring card…

ONE Championship returns to TNT for a third consecutive week this Wednesday, and the Singapore-based martial arts organization will do so with an alluring card…

John Lineker Can’t Complain About UFC Releasing Him

LinekerJohn Lineker has no complaints about the events that led to his release from the UFC. Lineker was cut by the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2019 after he had to pull out of his rematch with Rob Font due to injury. That was despite the Brazilian coming off just his fourth defeat — notably to […]

Lineker

John Lineker has no complaints about the events that led to his release from the UFC.

Lineker was cut by the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2019 after he had to pull out of his rematch with Rob Font due to injury. That was despite the Brazilian coming off just his fourth defeat — notably to current top-ranked contender Cory Sandhagen — in 16 outings for the UFC.

One big reason was the fact that Lineker was struggling to make fights for various reasons as he explained in a recent interview with Super Lutas (via Bloody Elbow).

That said, he’s thankful to have competed for the UFC as it changed his life for the better.

“A bunch of factors (led to my release),” Lineker said. “It started when I was going to fight Cody Garbrandt, but I got dengue fever and the fight was cancelled. The UFC lost a lot on that, because it was a really important fight for the division. Then I was going to fight Jimmie Rivera, but I got some bacteria. So lots of things that were beyond my control happened.

“The UFC started to give me the cold shoulder because of that. I went a long time without a fight and it was bad for me. I have a family, five kids. I need to work a lot. I started getting upset. I went as far as telling them to let me go if they were unhappy with me. Then they booked a fight, I got injured and they decided to cut me.

“I took the release well. It was fair. I can’t complain. I can only thank them for the seven years I spent in the UFC. It changed my life. I was able to better provide for my family. Now it’s a new life and a new home.”

Now at ONE Championship where he is 2-0 following victories over Muin Gafurov and former champion Kevin Belingon, “Hands of Stone” is targeting Bibiano Fernandes’ bantamweight crown.

However, Stephen Lomar comes first who Lineker meets on April 21.

“I’m 100% focused on him (Bibiano). I only have one more step ahead of me,” Lineker added. “I’m very determined to win my next fight, because Bibiano is my final target. I want to be become a world champion. I’m very excited for that.”