Alexey Balyko vows to send John Lineker packing at ONE Fight Night 25: “I want to break him mentally” 

Russian knockout artist Alexey Balyko has a very simple plan for when he meets former ONE world champion John Lineker.

Last month, Lineker made his Muay Thai debut against 'The American Ninja' Asa Ten Pow at ONE 168 in The Mile High City—Denver Colorado. A month later, 'Hands of Stone' will return to the art of eight limbs for another scrap, this time with Balyko, as part of the promotion's loaded ONE Fight Night 25 card on Amazon Prime Video.

Offering some insight into his strategy against the heavy-hitting Lineker, Balyko made it clear that his goal is to mentally break 'Hands of Stone' inside Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium.

He told ONE Championship:

"My strategy will be to make him feel powerless. I want to break him mentally."

Thus far, Alexey Balyko is 3-1 under the ONE banner, including a pair of impressive KOs against Suakim Sor Jor Tongprajin and Stefan Korodi—both coming in 2024.

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John Lineker expects Alexey Balyko to fight fire with fire at ONE Fight Night 25

As for John Lineker, the former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion enters the bout having won three of his last four—though his lone loss during that run came against Shinya Aoki only after 'Hands of Stone' agreed to take the fight on an hour's notice.

Before that, Lineker earned back-to-back wins over Kim Jae Woong and Stephen Loman before putting his boxing skills to work in Muay Thai.

Needless to say, Lineker's debut in the sport was a smashing success and he fully expects to deliver another barnburner this Friday night inside the Mecca of Muay Thai.

"From what little I've seen, and what I've studied of his game, he's a guy who uses boxing more, just like me," Lineker said of Balyko while speaking with the promotion. "In my last fight, I used boxing more, and very few kicks and elbows. I saw that he likes this same style.

"He likes to go for the striking, and even uses kicks, but very little. So, I see it as a fight between two athletes with very similar fighting styles. There will definitely be sparks."

ONE Fight Night 25 will air live via Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada on Friday, October 4 in U.S. primetime.