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John Lineker believes it’s only a matter of time before he’s squaring off against his rival Fabricio Andrade for the third time.
The former ONE bantamweight world champion is coming off a stunning knockout win over Kim Jae Woong at ONE Fight Night 13 this past weekend, and he feels the victory put him closer to a shot at his old throne.
During his post-fight interviews, Lineker said beating Kim was the first step in building his argument for a trilogy bout against Fabricio Andrade for the ONE bantamweight world title.
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Lineker said:
“I’m here to become a champ, I’m here to retrieve what’s mine so certainly Fabricio Andrade.”
Lineker may have gotten the knockout win he’s always worked for, but he visibly struggled to get there.
Kim, who stands 5-foot-8, is five inches taller than Lineker and he used that height and reach advantage to practically tag ‘Hands of Stone’ at will.
The South Korean star was, on his rights, dominating Lineker for much of the fight. That was until the final 10 seconds.
Lineker, whose face held truth to the punishment he received, used his deceptive footwork to cut the distance and blasted Kim with a two-punch combination. The first hook landed on Kim’s body while the second put ‘The Fighting God’ crashing against the ropes.
A hailstorm of punishment rained down Kim’s way forcing the referee to stop the match with four seconds left in the third round.
Lineker, though, may have to wait for his shot against Andrade with ‘Wonder Boy’ seemingly poised to defend the bantamweight strap against Filipino star Stephen Loman.
The Brazilian stars first met at ONE on Prime Video 3 in October 2022, but the bout ended in a no-contest after Andrade accidentally tagged Lineker in the groin which the latter couldn’t recover from in time.
Andrade ultimately captured the vacant ONE bantamweight world title when he scored a fourth-round technical knockout against Lineker at ONE Fight Night 7 in February 2023.
