John Lineker came up short in an effort to regain the ONE Bantamweight World Championship at ONE Fight Night 7. The Brazilian lost to his fellow countryman, Fabricio Andrade, by TKO after the fourth round when he could not come out for the final frame. But that doesn’t mean Lineker is taking the loss hard.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Lineker stated he was proud of his effort. He landed repeated shots to Andrade in the rematch, but the 25-year-old took them well and never dropped. The toughness of his opponent impressed “Hands of Stone.”
“I put a lot of hard blows, knockout blows, that he even was rocked. That’s why I was very surprised with his absorption of blows. Fabrício is a tough guy, and I’m sure we would fight until one of us fell. He’s a guy who doesn’t give up, and I’m a guy who doesn’t give up too. In the end, the winners of this war were the fans,” said Lineker.
“Wonder Boy” was sharp with his strikes in the rematch. He rocked Lineker on multiple occasions and piled up the damage with accurate shots. The damage worn on Lineker’s face was simply too much for the ringside physician and his corner to allow him to continue.
“The doctors were cleaning the cut and trying to get the swelling down in my eye, but unfortunately, I couldn’t see anything anymore. My corner asked me if everything was ok, and I said I couldn’t see anything. They talked to the doctor, and the doctor said that it was not possible to continue the fight,” said the former ONE Bantamweight World Champion.
Lineker may have been disappointed he could not reclaim the gold, but he was the first to congratulate Andrade on his victory. The two embraced in the ring as Andrade assumed the bantamweight throne. Lineker reflected on what he told the newly-crowned king moments after the result was read.
“I thanked him for the great fight we had. I said he deserved to be champion. I told him that he taught me a lot, that he showed me that I need to train more and more. I wished that God would bless him, that he would remain a champion, and that he would achieve everything he dreamed of in life,” recalled Lineker.
Andrade was also ready to share the moment with Lineker. The 25-year-old buried the hatchet with Lineker after a heated build-up to the main event. And he told Lineker what is true for many of the other young Brazilian martial artists making their way up today, that he has been an inspiration for his journey.
“He also praised me, said that I was a reference for him in the sport, and that fighting me was something sensational. He apologized for the provocations, said he did it just to promote the fight, and that he admired me a lot. That’s it. I was happy to fight him. People always ask me who was the toughest guy I ever fought, and for sure, Fabrício is the first on the list,” said Lineker.
