John Lineker says his love for fighting led to his dream of becoming a professional

John Lineker never believed he could pursue a career in combat sports until he saw his childhood hero, Acelino ‘Popó’ Freitas, making headways in professional boxing.

Former bantamweight king ‘Hands of Stone’ John Lineker knew he was born to do great things. Having a facility in sports, especially boxing at an early age, the Brazilian powerhouse never dreamed about becoming a professional martial artist, until he read an article about Brazilian boxing champion Acelino 'Popó' Freitas in the papers.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Lineker recalled:

“That impacted me. It generated a fire in my heart, something very strong. And that ended up becoming my wish, it became my dream. I already liked to fight, so having martial arts as a lifestyle to support my family was something that really moved me. I started practicing boxing soon after I read this article.”

‘Popo’ Freitas took the boxing world by storm from the early 90’s to the late 2000s. Coming from an impoverished background, ‘Popo’ made his rise to superstardom after becoming a WBO lightweight world champion in January 2004. A prolific knockout artist with 34 KOs in 43 fights, it’s no wonder John Lineker was influenced by his star power at an early age.

Like his hero, Lineker made his own mark in the MMA community in similar fashion. Boasting a career record of 17 knockouts overall, including three stoppages in ONE Championship, the former divisional king knows that there’s nothing stopping him from achieving his dreams once again.

Watch John Lineker reclaim his bantamweight belt against Fabricio Andrade on Friday, Feb. 24 at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video. American audiences can watch the event live and for free with an Amazon Prime subscription.

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John Lineker has stepped up the man power by buying a steel cup for the rematch

John Lineker is making sure he’s covering all his bases before his upcoming rematch against fellow countryman Fabricio Andrade.

In the first fight, Andrade accidentally landed a low blow which ended up shattering Lineker’s foam cup upon impact. The injury looked really bad as Lineker was seen rolling on the mats in pain. The bout was ultimately called off by the referee as a consequence and a later date for a rematch was set.

However, now as ‘Hands of Stone’ approaches fight day, he set minds at ease by announcing on Instagram:

“I bought a steep cup. It will be hard to break the cup again!”