The trend of young up-and-comers continues as 20-year-old Brazilian standout John Lineker ranks in at #5 on our 2011 World MMA Bantamweight Scouting Report countdown. The Emporium Jiu-Jitsu product has eight straight victories over roughly one year’s time, putting him in line for a call up to the major leagues in Brazil and potentially in the world. Lineker’s go-for-broke, aggressive style of striking is a casual fan’s dream, and he’s progressing nicely on the ground to supplement his sprawl and brawl tactics. While there is room for technical improvements, it’s hard to watch Lineker without smiling. He fights as if his life depended on it.
Offensive Skills: Lineker’s stand-up game is what I would accurately describe as chaos. He’s one of the most aggressive strikers you’ll find in any weight class, laying waste to opponents while disregarding the notion that anyone can test his granite chin. In fact, he’ll invite you to hit it frequently. While that may garner some criticism from fans that Lineker is far from a technical phenom on the feet, he doesn’t seem to care. It has proven to be an effective style, putting constant pressure on opponents to land the perfect blow to stop him. Nobody has done so within the last year.
Defensive Skills: Heh. Lineker’s defense is, how should I put this delicately, reliant on his chin. He constantly pushes forward, guns ablaze and firing, and that leaves his chin wide open for counter punches. In many of his fights, you’ll notice that Lineker gets tagged quite often, but he has never wobbled at the power of his opponents. That aggressive style allows him to constantly put his opponents on the defensive however, keeping him on the verge of blasting his opponents out of the water.
His takedown defense is solid and improving with every stint in the cage. He’s also improving on the ground, an area that fighters took advantage of in his earlier days as a fighter. Both are key to his continued success on the feet.
Progression: Lineker hasn’t had an ample amount of time to progress dramatically, but as I mentioned above — his ground game and takedown defense are two areas that we’ve seen noticeable improvement. His technical game on the feet isn’t anything to write home about, but it is getting a bit better as time passes.
Environment: Lineker trains out of Emporium Jiu-Jitsu in Paranagua, Parana, Brazil. Founded by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Marcelo Ribeiro, the camp is the home to a number of young up-and-coming fighters, many under the age of 18. Since the camp is relatively new, it’s tough to gauge if the level of training that Lineker receives is indicative of a successful future in bigger promotions. Lineker’s own success is beginning to pay dividends for the gym however.
| Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|
| #10 – Denis Puric #9 – Mike Easton #8 – Tommy Vargas #7 – Rodrigo Lima #6 – Adrian Wooley #5 – John Lineker |
#1 – Antonio Carvalho #2 – Taiki Tsuchiya #3 – Mark Adams #4 – Alan Omer #5 – Koichiro Matsumoto #6 – Tom Niinimaki #7 – Marcos Vinicius #8 – Matt Fiordirosa #9 – Isaac DeJesus #10 – Michel Gagnon |
#1 – Thiago Michel #2 – Ricardo Tirloni #3 – Magno Almeida #4 – Ui Cheol Nam #5 – Henrique Mello #6 – Reza Madadi #7 – Alexander Sarnavskiy #8 – Ole Laursen #9 – Guillaume DeLorenzi #10 – Al Iaquinta |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|
| #1 – Yuri Villefort #2 – Alex Garcia #3 – Erick Silva #4 – Douglas Lima #5 – Luis “Sapo” Santos #6 – Jesse Juarez #7 – Gunnar Nelson #8 – Quinn Mulhern #9 – Alberto Mina #10 – Joe Ray |
#1 – Papy Abedi #2 – Chris Weidman #3 – Vitor Vianna #4 – Vyacheslav Vasilevsky #5 – Bruno Santos #6 – Costantinos Philippou #7 – Jordan Smith #8 – Uriah Hall #9 – Victor O’Donnell #10 – Assan Njie |
#1 – Marcos Pezao #2 – Gian Villante #3 – Jimi Manuwa #4 – Glover Teixeira #5 – Jan Blachowicz #6 – Yoel Romero #7 – Ryan Jimmo #8 – Nik Fekete #9 – Marcus Vanttinen #10 – Ronny Markes |
Potential: Lineker is only 20 years old, yet has more fights than many of the biggest stars in the sport. The plethora of experience he has attained can only help him become a better fighter, and the fact that he’s so young plays a big part in his potential on a bigger stage.
His aggressive tactics in the cage are a breath of fresh air when compared to the “smarter” tactical fighters who tend to pick apart opponents from range. While most readers would believe the latter has a better chance at success, Lineker’s constant pressure and striking is effective enough to put those types of fighters in bad situations. If Lineker can improve his takedown defense and grappling to a point in which he’s difficult to bring to the floor and control, he may be in line for a deep run in the UFC, especially if the way he fights continues.
Video
John Lineker Highlight
John Lineker vs Jetron Amaral – Beware of the music.
John Lineker vs. Israel Silva
John Lineker Vs Wagner Galeto
John Lineker vs. Cika
John Lineker vs. Claudio Rodriguez
John Lineker vs. Heriton Alves
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