“The king is coming to keep his crown” - John Lineker reaffirms his place at the top of the bantamweight division

John Lineker intends to keep his ONE bantamweight world title for a very long time.

‘Hands of Stone’ is set to make his first world title defense against streaking challenger Fabricio Andrade in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3 on October 21. The massive firefight will air live on US primetime via Prime Video from the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

As soon as the fight was announced, the 32-year-old let his brash challenger do most of the talking. ‘Wonder Boy’, after all, has been quite vocal about how he’ll supposedly make Lineker’s world title reign a short-lived affair.

As Andrade keeps running his mouth, Lineker has been content to sit on the sidelines and sharpen his already deadly fists inside the gym. On Wednesday, the American Top Team (ATT) product finally broke his silence and offered a short but sweet guarantee.

Here’s John Lineker’s post translated from Portuguese to English:

“The king is coming to keep his crown.”

Lineker became the undisputed king of the 145-pound division by dethroning multi-time bantamweight world champion Bibiano Fernandes in devastating fashion at ONE: Lights Out this past March.

The hard-hitting Brazilian laid waste to his first four opponents inside the Circle and has finished his last three fights by way of fearsome knockouts. Now, he faces a young and hungry challenger who has also blitzed through his first five fights in the promotion.

As far as John Lineker is concerned, he’ll be serving Andrade a slice of humble pie at ONE on Prime Video 3.

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Fabricio Andrade vows to ‘finish the job’ against John Lineker

Andrade, who currently ranks second in the ONE bantamweight rankings, hasn’t been shy at all in calling out one of the scariest power punchers in mixed martial arts. In fact, he’s been begging for this fight ever since Lineker signed with the promotion in 2019.

‘Wonder Boy’ was still an up-and-coming prospect back then who had to earn his stripes to challenge a proven veteran like Lineker. After going unbeaten inside the Circle and winning his last three fights in less than a round, no one can deny Andrade’s claim against his fellow Brazilian.

In a cheeky Instagram post, the 25-year-old rising star likened himself to a mercenary who’s out to collect a bounty on Lineker’s head:

“[John Lineker] it’s time to face your fears. The hitman is coming to finish the job, see you soon.”