Rewatch John Lineker's entertaining battle with Kevin Belingon. In Oct. 2019, Lineker made his highly-anticipated debut in ONE Championship, defeating Muin Gafurov by unanimous decision.
'Hands of Stone' didn't return for his second appearance until Nov. 2022, when he was matched up for a bantamweight bout against Belingon at ONE: Inside The Matrix lll.
At the time, Belingon was coming off back-to-back losses and hoped to get back on track against Lineker. Unfortunately for him, the hard-hitting Brazilian wouldn't be denied in the main event matchup and secured a second-round knockout.
ONE Championship re-posted Lineker's impressive performance against Belingon on YouTube, which can be seen below:
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Following his win against Kevin Belingon, John Lineker knocked out Troy Worthen to secure a bantamweight title shot against then-world champion Bibiano Fernandes. Lineker capitalized on the opportunity and took out Fernandes in round two, etching his name into ONE Championship history.
Since then, Lineker endured a no-contest and TKO loss against Fabricio Andrade. He later bounced back with consecutive wins against Kim Jae Woong and Stephen Loman. The 34-year-old's last fight was a first-round submission loss against Shinya Aoki in an openweight bout that he accepted on an hour's notice.
John Lineker plans to extend combat sports resume with Muay Thai win at ONE 168: Denver
On Sept. 6, ONE 168: Denver goes down inside the Ball Arena, representing the promotion's return to North America. John Lineker has been added to the stacked fight card, but he won't be fighting under MMA rules.
Instead, 'Hands of Stone' will test his striking skills in a bantamweight Muay Thai bout against Asa Ten Pow. The American has fought three times under the ONE banner, losing his debut before bouncing back with consecutive knockout wins against Han Zi Hao and Rambolek.
Regardless of the result, Lineker maintains a strong presence in the ONE bantamweight MMA title picture. There's a possibility that the number one-ranked Lineker could face Fabricio Andrade in a trilogy fight in late 2024 or early 2025.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver can be found on Ticketmaster.