“7 is already pretty dangerous” - John Lineker is unbothered by Fabricio Andrade’s rating of his striking skills

Reigning ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker refuses to engage with his challenger Fabricio Andrade’s attempt for some verbal back-and-forth. After all, ‘Hands of Stone’ would rather let his fists do the talking when they meet in the circle as headliners at ONE on Prime Video 3.

The built-up animosity between the two ferocious Brazilian warriors will finally be unleashed on October 21 inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event will be broadcast live in US primetime via Prime Video.

Ahead of the main event, it seems like Lineker has already heard every insult in the book from the brash Andrade. While the soft-spoken world champion has usually opted to turn the other cheek, he couldn’t resist to offer a clapback after ‘Wonder Boy’ questioned his renowned striking skills.

In a previous interview, Andrade boldly rated Lineker’s striking a seven on a scale from 1 to 10. That’s quite the stingy score, especially considering the number of formidable opponents the 32-year-old has put to sleep in his storied career.

In typical Lineker fashion, he offered a short but definitely sweet retort. ‘Hands of Stone’ had this response in an interview with ONE Championship:

“I think a 7 is already pretty dangerous for him. That's what I think.”

If John Lineker’s striking is really just a seven – in Andrade’s eyes, at least – then we wonder how much scarier he’ll be at 10...

Moreover, the American Top Team (ATT) standout has 35 career wins to his name, with 17 of those coming by ferocious KOs and TKOs. The last three victims have come inside the circle, including Kevin Belingon and former 145-pound king Bibiano Fernandes in his last outing.

‘Hands of Stone’ once again lived up to his moniker, detonating a monster left cross that felled Fernandes and ended his reign effectively this past March at ONE: Lights Out.

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Kevin Belingon says John Lineker’s chin is "suspect"

Aside from his one-punch knockout power, John Lineker also has a reputation for being able to take and dish punishment at the same time. His granite chin has allowed him to withstand the heaviest of hits over the years, and he is yet to get knocked out in his MMA career.

Andrade, however, believes he’s going to be the first man to do so.

John Lineker’s former foe, Kevin Belingon, agrees that the world champion’s durability is just better on paper.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the Team Lakay fighter questioned how a non-striker like Fernandes was able to knock down a supposed gritty fighter like Lineker.

“If anything, I think John Lineker’s chin is a little suspect. That might work against him in this fight. I wasn’t able to hit him with anything, but if I had been able to touch his chin, he would go down.”

He added:

“We all saw his fight with Bibiano Fernandes. Bibiano was able to hit him with a hook to the chin, and Lineker was almost out. I think that’s his biggest weakness, his chin.”

Certainly, Andrade is grinning from ear-to-ear after hearing Belingon’s assessment. In fact, he can’t wait to test that theory at ONE on Prime Video 3.