John Lineker says low blows won’t be a problem in Fabricio Andrade rematch: “I bought a steel cup”

John Lineker is making sure that there won’t be any more late-fight problems when he faces Fabricio Andrade once more for the vacant ONE bantamweight world title.

The first fight between the rivals more than delivered on the hype that it promised, but it also ended in the most disappointing way. Andrade accidentally tagged Lineker with a knee to the groin past the midway point of the third round in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3.

Andrade’s hit had so much force behind it that it shattered Lineker’s cup forcing the match into a no-contest.

Making sure that no such instances happen again, Lineker took the measure of purchasing a harder cup ahead of the world title rematch at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video.

In an interview with South China Morning Post, John Lineker said:

“Yes, I bought a steel cup so that won’t happen again.”

Since Lineker and Andrade’s first fight ended in a no-contest, their precious zeroes in their promotional win-loss records are also hanging in the balance. ‘Hands of Stone’ is a perfect 4-0 in ONE Championship with three knockouts to his name. Andrade, meanwhile, is at 5-0 with three knockouts and a submission victory.

ONE Fight Night 7 will go down at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on February 24. The card will be available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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John Lineker reveals how he developed his ferocious power

There are few people in the world who can rival John Lineker’s fearsome knockout power, and the heavy-handed Brazilian believes that he developed his natural strength at an early age.

Lineker has a wild style to his fights, and the former boxer has used that aggressive approach to score 35 wins across his storied career, with 17 of those victories coming via knockout.

In an interview with ONE Championship, ‘Hands of Stone’ detailed how he became such a strong and ferocious puncher.

He said:

“I worked a lot as a bricklayer’s helper, so I hit a lot of dough and carried a lot of weight. I think this strength has been developing since I was a kid."