“A dream never dies, it can only be delayed” - John Lineker determined to reclaim lost glory after injuries heal

Heading into ONE on Prime Video 3, ‘Hands of Stone’ John Lineker was still riding high from his shocking knockout of ONE Championship legend Bibiano Fernandes at ONE: Lights Out in March. Hours before he was scheduled to defend his title in the evening’s main event, it all came crashing down.

John Lineker weighed in 0.75 pounds over the bantamweight limit. As a result, ‘Hands of Stone’ was stripped of the title he spent more than a decade working to earn.

Despite the disappointment, Lineker is determined to earn back the world championship he lost on the scale. He wrote on Instagram:

“For those who believe and persist, a dream never dies, it can only be delayed. . @onechampionship @ocsjj #handsofstone #mma”

Despite losing his title the day before ONE on Prime Video 3, John Lineker pressed forward and stepped inside the circle with top contender Fabricio ‘Wonder Boy’ Andrade. Still eligible to capture the crown, Andrade delivered a hard-hitting performance that nearly saw the Brazilian star walk out with ONE gold wrapped around his waist.

Sadly, it was not meant to be as a low blow delivered by ‘Wonder Boy’ in the third round sent Lineker crashing to the mat, writhing in pain. Unable to continue, the bout was called a no contest, leaving the bantamweight title without a home.

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John Lineker was a one-eyed man at ONE on Prime Video 3

While John Lineker’s main event scrap with Fabricio Andrade ended in disappointment, fans were still treated to nearly two and a half fantastic rounds that saw the two Brazilian warriors engage in an all-out war.

Going into the third round where things went awry, Lineker had a horribly swollen eye following a particularly nasty strike from Andrade in the second. With his eye no longer visible, many fans expected the referee to call for a stoppage. Alas, that was not the case as the fight continued up until a low blow from Andrade ended things abruptly.

Discussing the injury with ONE Championship, Lineker admitted that he could no longer “see straight” and had an especially difficult time targeting ‘Wonder Boy’ in the third round.

"When his blow hit my eye, I couldn't see straight anymore. This bothered me a lot because I couldn't find the target [laughs]. My vision was not 100 percent. I couldn't find the distance, but when I started to find it, I ended up taking that knee, which hurt me a lot."