John Lineker continued to silence doubters in ONE Championship’s return to the United States. The heavy-handed slugger made his Muay Thai debut at ONE 168: Denver in triumphant fashion. He had no issues transitioning into the sport against a high-caliber opponent, Asa Ten Pow.
“Hands of Stone” remained true to what earned him worldwide acclaim. Lineker was aggressive from the outset, winging ferocious punches. Ultimately, he earned a knockout finish in the second round, which went just as planned.
“I think I did very well, especially considering that my specialty is boxing. I managed to do everything I had planned, and I was very happy with the result. I had a great performance, I managed to be very aggressive, as I am in all my fights,” Lineker stated to ONE.
Lineker’s style did not change from MMA to Muay Thai. If anything, it aided his ability to move forward without the fear of a takedown. Lineker was clear his goal is always to achieve a finish and leave the fans smiling with an exciting contest.
“We never know if we’re going to win by knockout or on points, but I always go for the knockout. And this fight was no different. I went in looking for the knockout the whole time and I got it once again. In all my fights, the fans can always expect a knockout because that’s what I do. I don’t leave the result in the hands of the judges,” the Brazilian remarked.
Although he won against an upper-echelon striker, Lineker has no plans to end his MMA career. “Hands of Stone” is still laser-focused on getting the ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title back around his waist. Still, Lineker would be happy to take exciting Muay Thai scraps to stay active when the right opportunity arrives.
“My focus is MMA. I don’t plan on switching to Muay Thai [permanently], but I want to do other Muay Thai fights, just to stay active. I can even fight in submission grappling or do some super-fight with special rules! In MMA, my focus is to fight for the title again, regardless of who holds the belt. It’s currently with Fabrício Andrade, so my focus is to fight him for the title,” Lineker commented.
Above all other names, Lineker said he wants a shot at “The Iron Man.” Although he would be happy to face other notable strikers, Rodtang offers a fan-friendly matchup that could captivate the world. Lineker believes their hypothetical matchup would be an instant classic and give everybody a thrilling result.
“In Muay Thai, a fight against Rodtang [Jitmuangnon] would be interesting, and I think the fans would really enjoy watching it. I think it would be insane! A fight against Superlek [Kiatmoo9] or [Jonathan] Haggerty would definitely be crazy! It would be a war, I have no doubt about that. But the Muay Thai fight I have in mind would be against Rodtang. Because of the height and physical structure, this fight would be a great match. It would be a great show for the fans,” Lineker said.
