Stephen Loman praises John Lineker’s merciless power: “He gave it his all in that fight”

The pivotal bantamweight world title showdown between Stephen Loman and John Lineker went down on September 29 at ONE Fight Night 14, where the former champion stamped his class against the Filipino slugger for a unanimous decision victory.

That victory has potentially earned ‘Hands of Stone’ another opportunity for the belt against ONE bantamweight world champion Fabricio Andrade.

It was an even more impressive victory for Lineker, especially after accepting this fight with a quick turnaround. He scored a last-second TKO of Kim Jae Woong on August 4, 2023, at ONE Fight Night 13.

Meanwhile, it was Loman’s first defeat under the world’s largest martial arts organization, as he had won his first three previous fights. Speaking to The MMA Superfan, ‘The Sniper’ narrated his experience fighting and sharing the circle with Lineker.

Loman sensed that the 33-year-old poured everything during their fight because he felt the full power from Lineker, although he thought that he had the upper hand in the grappling department.

The Team Lakay representative said:

“I think he gave it his all in that fight. He was throwing shots with a lot of power behind them. He was getting tired a bit and I felt like I was winning some grappling exchanges.”

Aside from sustaining his first ONE Championship loss, Loman’s 11-fight streak that dates back to April 2016 was also snapped by the No.1-ranked divisional contender.

Despite this adversity, the 28-year-old has learned a few valuable lessons that he will use moving forward to earn his way into a title shot. Loman has the option to face other top bantamweight contenders like Kwon Won Il and Artem Belakh in his next fight.

You can watch the ONE Fight Night 14 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.