Martin Nguyen suggests John Lineker will be better prepared for Fabricio Andrade in rematch: “Going to step out with a steel cup”

John Lineker knows what he’s up against in Fabricio Andrade. And for that, 'Hands of Stone' has armed himself with a steel cup.

The former bantamweight world champion had his hands full in his last encounter with Andrade, who’s seven years younger than him. 'Wonder Boy' outstruck the forty-five fight veteran over two and a half rounds, before the unceremonious no-contest ruling due to a groin strike to Lineker.

The kick broke Lineker's cup.

Another ONE fighter competing this weekend believes that the first fight will be a one-off and that the rematch will unfold much differently.

Former ONE world champion Martin Nguyen is of the opinion that fans can expect gameplan 2.0 from Lineker as indicated during his ONE Fight Night 7 pre-fight interview. Here’s what he expects from 'Hands of Stone' in the rematch:

"Probably not the same ending. My man's going to step out with a steel cup. I don't know. I also talked with Aung about how he thinks the fight might go. And he thinks that John Lineker will probably come in much more prepared. Not that he wasn't the first time, but he prepared differently, as opposed to how to deal with a longer, craftier, faster opponent in Fabricio."

John Lineker has fought four times as many MMA fights as Andrade, and he’s unlikely to make all the same mistakes as he did in the first fight. The bout goes down as the main event of ONE Fight Night 7 which takes place on February 24 in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Jeremy Pacatiw believes John Lineker can’t get stuck with tunnel vision in rematch with Fabricio Andrade

When something works, it’s worth repeating.

However, for John Lineker, he may have to think a bit outside the box this weekend. The 32-year-old Brazilian has made a career out of knocking men out unconscious.

Another ONE Championship bantamweight, Jeremy Pacatiw, believes that Lineker’s reliance on throwing hooks won’t get him back the title, and he has to be more diverse than that. Here’s what Pacatiw told ONE Championship:

"John Lineker’s hooks are very, very dangerous. And it seems like he doesn’t care if he gets hit, as long as he’s able to hit you with it. He has tunnel vision. But that can also work against him with Fabricio Andrade. He has to avoid that."

It’s that same tunnel vision that has likely made John Lineker such a tough fighter to take out. In forty-five fights, he’s only been finished three times, and the last was over a decade ago.

ONE Fight Night 7 will air live and for free on Amazon Prime Video on US prime time for North American subscribers. Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium will play host to both ONE Fight Night 7 and ONE Friday Fights 6 this weekend.