“One thing I never do in a fight is back off” - John Lineker admits he only knows how to move forward

John Lineker is a fighter built for fan approval.

'Hands of Stone' is making final preparations to step into the ONE circle to entertain MMA fans once again on February 24. Fighting Fabricio Andrade for the second time, their first fight was cut off prematurely by a groin strike to Lineker.

One bright side, in the rematch, fans will get to see more of Andrade and Lineker going at it, booked for five more rounds in Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

John Lineker recently spoke to ONE Championship about his aggressive style, promising that fans shouldn’t expect anything less than the violence they’re used to from him:

“One thing I never do in a fight is back off. I’m going to press all the time, and I’m going to do what I know how to do best, which is to fight.”

The former ONE bantamweight world champion has won nearly half of his thirty-five wins by knockout, and all three of his last three wins with ONE Championship have come via knockout.

When John Lineker knocks his opponents to the ground, they’re still not out of the deep end: Lineker owns a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Incredibly, the Brazilian has never been punished for his aggressive striking style and been knocked out in a fight.

Fabricio Andrade will attempt to be the first to beat Lineker in ONE Championship, and potentially the first to knock him out, when they fight at ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24 in Bangkok. The event is live and free in North America via Prime Video.

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John Lineker claims punches he took from Andrade in first fight were superficial

'Hands of Stone' may well be called 'Face of Stone'.

The stubborn Brazilian John Lineker claims that he didn’t take much damage in his first meeting with Fabricio Andrade, at least not much that got his attention.

Speaking to ONE Championship, the former bantamweight world champion had this to say about Andrade’s offense in fight number one:

“I watched my fight against him again. Inside the cage, it’s one thing. Watching it on TV you have another vision. The fact is that I let him land a lot of jabs, which ended up hurting my face a lot. I wasn’t feeling his punches so much. I wasn’t afraid of his punches, so I took those jabs and ended up getting a pretty bruised face.”

While he may have been able to brush off the jabs of Fabricio Andrade, he definitely felt the kick to the groin in round three. Intent on leaving no doubt with the fans this time around, fans can expect Lineker to be himself and use his heavy hands to separate Andrade from consciousness.