“It's always hard to start something new” - John Lineker working on his ground game to prepare for inevitable return to MMA

John Lineker confirmed his intention to return to professional MMA.

Over the last six months, Lineker has focused on Muay Thai, where he's showcased an impressive three-fight run, two wins and one loss.

The Brazilian superstar has enjoyed testing himself in another discipline, but he hasn't forgotten about MMA.

During an interview with ONE, Lineker had this to say about training in jiu-jitsu again to prepare for his inevitable return to MMA:

"I'm back training Jiu-Jitsu, and it's always hard to start something new. I'm training Jiu-Jitsu because in the future, I intend to return to MMA. I don't know exactly when, because I still want to make a title run in Muay Thai. But I'm really excited and eager to learn, but I had to take a break because of my fight preparation. But I'll be back soon."

John Lineker lost his chance to regain the ONE bantamweight MMA world title due to a fourth-round TKO loss against Fabricio Andrade in February 2023.

'Hands of Stone' has since re-solidified himself as the number one contender in the division by taking out Kim Jae Woong and Stephen Loman.

Lineker's last professional MMA appearance was in January 2024, when he suffered a first-round submission loss against Shinya Aoki. The former bantamweight king accepted the openweight bout on a few hours notice.

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John Lineker will first challenge himself in kickboxing

John Lineker's desire to regain the ONE bantamweight MMA world title hasn't diminished since he transitioned to Muay Thai.

Firstly, the 34-year-old plans to test himself in another sport by making his promotional kickboxing debut at ONE 172.

Lineker's opponent for the March 23 event is former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto. Akimoto needs a win now more than ever after suffering consecutive defeats against Petchtanong, Wei Rui, and Ilias Ennahachi.

The Japanese former world champion will have an advantage against Lineker at ONE 172, as the event takes place in his home country of Japan.

Fight fans can catch the entire card live via pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com this Sunday, March 23.