“I stayed calm and focused” – John Lineker says fight against Kim Jae Woong threw him off his game

John Lineker won’t underestimate what Stephen Loman brings to the table on fight night after dealing with slight adversity during his recent fight with Kim Jae Woong.

The former bantamweight MMA king headed into that pivotal showdown at ONE Fight Night 13, assuming he would only need to depend on his stand-up game to get things moving.

However, that perception was thrown out of the window from the sound of the bell as Kim decided to mix it up and spam one takedown after another to cancel out whatever ‘Hands of Stone’ packed.

As such, the knockout specialist, with 22 highlight-reel finishes, has spent his training camp strengthening other pillars of his craft in the lead-up to his match against Loman at ONE Fight Night 14.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the Parana native touched about his last outing with Kim, admitting that he needed to keep himself composed before eventually securing the latest knockout on his resume.

John Lineker said:

“Kim Jae Woong surprised me a lot when he put me down. It was something I didn't expect, I didn't imagine he would come up with that strategy.”

He added:

“I thought he was going to fight me standing up because he has a good boxing game. I thought it would be a stand-up fight. But every fight is a story. I stayed calm and focused on my goal.”

He’ll certainly need that ability to keep his cool and stick to his game plan when he meets a well-rounded fighter like Loman.

The Team Lakay athlete has shown in all of his promotional outings that he’s effective pretty much anywhere. And that trait is something John Lineker must address if he wants to leave the Singapore Indoor Stadium with his hand raised.

ONE Fight Night 14 will be available to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription in U.S. primetime on Friday, September 29.