John Lineker may have been a step behind Fabricio Andrade when they fought last October, leading many onlookers to assume that a victory for ‘Wonder Boy’ was well on the way.
However, the former ONE bantamweight world champion sees things differently. Stopped at nearly the exact halfway point of the five-round fight due to a stray knee to the groin of Lineker, the result at the end of the night was one of confusion and dissatisfaction. For starters, the ONE bantamweight world championship remained vacant.
What comes next?
Ahead of the rematch at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, John Lineker spoke with Sportskeeda MMA about the first fight, pointing out that he sensed a change in the tides coming:
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“He hit the knee well, and I felt the blow. It ended up taking my breath away, but for sure I was going to survive that blow, so much so that when I backed up I saw him coming, and at that time I was going to put him down."
At this point in his career, John Lineker has seen everything. A veteran of more than 40 pro-MMA fights, Lineker arrived in ONE Championship after a long and successful career in North America.
What’s more, is that Lineker is still technically undefeated in ONE Championship, beating many of the best in the organization en route to the ONE bantamweight world championship in March 2022.
Fans may have mostly sided with Fabricio Andrade to repeat his success in the rematch with Lineker, but Lineker also had success with an offensive attack that put Andrade on his back. ONE Fight Night 7 will be a competition of who can expand their successes in the first fight to overwhelm the other.
The highly anticipated rematch between the two rivals, as well as the rest of the ONE Fight Night 7 card, is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Danny Kingad advises John Lineker to keep things tight in rematch with Andrade
Another fighter that believes a win for John Lineker is entirely possible come February 24 is Danny Kingad.
Lending his expertise to The MMA Superfan about the fight, Danny Kingad said,
"Because he’s facing a taller opponent in Fabricio Andrade, who likes to fight at a certain distance, John Lineker needs to get in close and smother him so he can’t throw his strikes. Plus, Lineker’s hooks on the inside are devastating. That’s one way he can win this fight. I think that if Lineker times his shots right, he could get the win against Andrade."
Come fight night, Fabricio Andrade will have a four-inch reach advantage over Lineker and a three-inch height advantage.
If John Lineker uses his body frame correctly, according to Kingad, he could use his smaller stature to slip into the guard and land his most lethal weapons - unbridled, walloping haymakers.
Lineker and Andrade will battle in the main event of ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24 in Bangkok, Thailand.
