John Lineker excited for ONE Championship’s debut on U.S. soil

John Lineker is excited to see ONE Championship make its long-awaited debut in the United States.

The promotion recently announced its mainland entry, scheduled to be headlined by a trilogy bout between pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson and his division rival, Adriano Moraes. No other announcements have been made regarding the card, which will go down on May 5, but if ‘Hands of Stone’ gets his wish, he will be part of the historic event this spring.

“ONE's U.S. debut is great news for all of us fighters and also for the event, which has been growing a lot around the world. And it will be very good for us fighters in terms of sponsorship and visibility, among other aspects.

“It would be an honor to fight on this card, even because most of my international fights were in the United States. So, to be fighting again in the U.S. and now for the ONE Championship would be amazing.”

Before ONE on Prime Video 10 airs live from the 1stBank Center in Colorado, John Lineker will step into the Circle on February 10 to settle things with fellow Brazilian Fabricio Andrade. The two will meet in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 7 to crown a new bantamweight world champion.

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John Lineker backs countryman Adriano Moraes in a rematch with Demetrious Johnson

Whether or not John Lineker receives the offer to compete at ONE Championship’s U.S. debut, the former bantamweight world champion will have his eyes on the massive main event between reigning flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes.

Discussing his prediction for the bout, ‘Hands of Stone’ revealed that he is backing his countryman in the matchup:

“I believe in a victory for Adriano Moraes. He has a better ground game than Demetrious Johnson. I believe he will work well from a distance since he has a bigger wingspan, and he won't let 'DJ' dominate the center of the cage. My bet is that Adriano Moraes will take down 'DJ' and win this trilogy by submission.”

Moraes and Johnson first met in April 2021 at ONE on TNT 1. It was there that Moraes handed ‘DJ’ his first career knockout loss, catching Johnson with a devastating knee on the ground. Sixteen months later, Johnson got his revenge, handing Moraes his first knockout loss with his own highlight-reel-worthy knee to the chin.