ONE Championship posted a highlight of John Lineker throwing vicious hooks at Troy Worthen.
‘Hands of Stone’ made his ONE debut in October 2019, defeating Muin Gafurov by unanimous decision. A year later, he returned against Kevin Belingon and secured a second-round TKO to put the division on notice. Lineker’s next step towards a bantamweight title shot was Troy Worthen at ONE on TNT III.
Lineker continued his dominant run with a first-round knockout against Worthen. Before landing the fight-ending punch, the hard-hitting Brazilian looked to land massive hooks. ONE recently showcased his attempts on Instagram with the caption:
"Hands of Stone" is a problem 😱 John Lineker rematches Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE Bantamweight World Title on February 24 at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video! 👑 @johnlinekermma”
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After taking out Worthen, Lineker earned a bantamweight world championship opportunity against multiple-time title holder Bibiano Fernandes. ‘Hands of Stone’ displayed his undeniable power once again by knocking out Fernandes with a brutal head-body combination, ending the fight in the second round.
Lineker’s first title defense was against rising superstar Fabricio Andrade. ‘Hands of Stone’ ended up vacating the title after missing weight. The bantamweight title fight ended in a no-contest when Andrade landed an illegal groin shot, breaking the cup of the former world champion.
Lineker and Andrade will meet again at ONE Fight Night 7 this February 24 in Bangkok, which will be broadcast live and for free via Amazon Prime.
John Lineker believes his power was developed from a grueling job he used to have
17 of John Lineker’s 35 wins have come by KO/TKO. Lineker’s power has become well-respected in the MMA community, but the question is, where did his primary fighting tool come from? During an interview with ONE, ‘Hands of Stone’ had this to say:
"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."
Lineker will settle his no-contest against Fabricio Andrade in the ONE Fight Night 7 main event on February 24. Andrade has continued to trash talk the former world champion, showing little respect for what ‘Hands of Stone’ has accomplished. The bantamweight world championship showdown can be seen for free by North American Prime Video subscribers.
Check out the ONE Fight Night 7 fight card featuring John Lineker vs. Fabricio Andrade: