John Lineker determined to reclaim lost gold from Fabricio Andrade

John Lineker has one goal when he returns to the circle in 2023; regain the ONE bantamweight world championship that he technically never lost.

Lineker was scheduled to defend his world title against undefeated bantamweight standout Fabricio ‘Wonder Boy’ Andrade in the ONE on Prime Video 3 main event. Unfortunately, Lineker was unable to make weight for the championship bout. As a result, ‘Hands of Stone’ was stripped of the belt on the scale. Speaking to ONE Championship, Lineker shared his goals for the new year, saying:

“My goal for next year is to regain the title. I'll take what's mine. And I also want to stay champion, try to do some super-fights with special rules, and maybe try submission grappling. I want to make history. I still have a lot to achieve in my career.”

Despite losing the bantamweight crown before his scheduled showdown with Andrade began, Lineker moved forward with the match, determined to prove that he is still the rightful king of the division. Through three and a half rounds, fans were on the edge of their seats as the two Brazilians swung heavy leather.

Near the halfway point of round four, Andrade landed a vicious knee to the body that clearly hurt Lineker. Smelling blood in the water, Andrade moved in, delivering another flying knee. Unfortunately, this one landed low, smashing Andrade directly into the peninsula south of the equator.

With John Lineker unable to recover, the bout was called off and ruled a no-contest, leaving ONE without a bantamweight champion. For now.

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John Lineker considers 2022 a success despite losing his ONE world championship

Despite losing the ONE bantamweight world championship on the scale in October, John Lineker is happy with what he accomplished in 2022 and is eager to repeat his success in 2023:

“It was a very good year. I had a great achievement in my life - the achievement of a dream - which was to become world champion. I ended up losing the title [on] the scales, which was something that made me very upset. I already had a history of problems with the scale, but this time, it was a [small] detail because I [didn’t] suffer to reach the weight.”

John Lineker continued, saying:

“I should have weighed [myself on] the official scales, but I still had a wonderful time in 2022. And about my last fight, I had my cup broken. Unfortunately, I couldn't get back into the fight. But we will have our rematch. Everything fell into place and now, I have the opportunity to get my belt back.”

On February 10, ‘Hands of Stone’ will step back into the circle to headline ONE on Prime Video 7. He will once again face division rival Fabricio Andrade with the vacant ONE bantamweight world championship on the line.