John Lineker shrugs off fouls in Stephen Loman firefight: “It is what it is”

Former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion and current no.1-ranked bantamweight MMA contender ‘Hands of Stone’ John Lineker has been hit with everything imaginable in his time inside the Circle, and the tough-as-nails Brazilian veteran still remains standing.

Lineker has endured accident eye pokes, headbutts, and illegal groin shots over his last few fights. But, he’s proven himself to still be the biggest threat to Fabricio Andrade to date.

‘Hands of Stone’ is fresh off another scintillating performance against no.2-ranked bantamweight MMA contender ‘The Sniper’ Stephen Loman at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video last weekend.

The event took place live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore last Saturday, September 30th.

Lineker survived another tough battle against a game opponent to take home a hard-earned unanimous decision victory, solidifying his spot against Andrade at the top of the stack. However, the Brazilian star had to endure a bevy of unfortunate fouls to get the win.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post in a recent interview, Lineker talked about having to deal with various illegal blows against Loman, which included a finger in the eye, a clash of heads, and an accidental kick to the nether region.

‘Hands of Stone’ said:

“Yeah, I mean I got a headbutt, got my eye poked. I got hit in the groin. Fabricio gave me a really good shot when we fought, so you know, it is what it is.”

He added:

“My vision is still a bit blurry but I wasn’t going to let that stop the fight and I have two eyes so I was going to keep on going whatever [it was].”

With the victory, Lineker is now in pole position for another crack at the bantamweight MMA throne. He has likely earned the trilogy against Andrade, the reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world champion.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch a replay of ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham on demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.