John Lineker responds to Kwon Won Il’s callout for a world title eliminator bout: “I can fight him”

Brazilian bantamweight fighter John Lineker is willing to fight South Korean Kwon Won Il next if another world title shot would take longer to set up than hoped.

‘Hands of Stone’ made this known in an interview with ONE Championship, taking note of how 'Pretty Boy' called him out, saying:

“If I have to wait, February would be a good month to fight [Andrade] for the belt. But if it’s a long time after that, I’d rather not wait. [Kwon Won Il] is challenging me, so if the title fight takes a while, I can fight him.”

John Lineker was a winner in his last fight at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video on September 29 in Singapore. He defeated Filipino bantamweight contender Stephen Loman by unanimous decision.

It was the second straight victory for the former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Lineker, who was stripped of his championship belt after missing weight in his first title clash with Fabricio Andrade in October last year. Said fight, however, ended in a no contest.

In their redo back in February, John Lineker failed to reclaim the world title after being stopped by Andrade in the fourth round by technical knockout (corner stoppage).

The American Top Team affiliate, however, returned in style in his next fight, coming from behind to finish South Korean Kim Jae Wong by TKO (punches) in the closing seconds of their three-round clash this past August.

Now back on the winning track, John Lineker is hoping to get another shot at the title he once held.

Standing in his way is Kwon Won Il, the No. 4-ranked contender in the division. He has won back-to-back matches, both by TKO, with the most recent one over Russian Artem Belakh in June. The 28-year-old well-rounded fighter is looking to climb the rankings and eventually earn a title shot of his own.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 14 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.