‘Safety comes first’ – John Lineker’s manager explains decision to throw in towel

John Lineker could not recover his ONE bantamweight title this weekend. Having lost the belt due to a weight miss back in 2022, his…

By: Lucas Rezende | 7 months ago
‘Safety comes first’ – John Lineker’s manager explains decision to throw in towel
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

John Lineker could not recover his ONE bantamweight title this weekend. Having lost the belt due to a weight miss back in 2022, his first fight against Fabricio Andrade ended in a No Contest due to an accidental groin strike by ‘Wonder Boy’, which left the former champ unable to continue in the fight.

Despite putting his best effort, ‘Hands of Stone’ did not retrieve his belt in the rematch, as well. This time around, though, Andrade managed to score a clear TKO win when Lineker’s own corner stopped the fight at the end of the fourth round in order to prevent John from more unecessary damage.

Corner stoppages are relatively rare in MMA compared to boxing, and soon after the fight, Lineker’s manager tweeted to explain the reason behind their decision. According to Alex Davis, it was simply made to prioritize John’s health.

Before the Andrade fights, Lineker (35-10-1 NC) was on a four-fight winning streak under ONE’s banner, with victories over Muin Gafurov, Kevin Belingon, Troy Worthen and Bibiano Fernandes, with three of them coming by way of knockout. The 32-year-old’s most recent loss before that happened October 2019, when he dropped a split decisiont o Cory Sandhagen the Brazilian’s last UFC fight.

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About the author
Lucas Rezende
Lucas Rezende

Lucas Rezende is a Brazilian journalist and writer from Belem, Para. He has been covering MMA since 2012 and contributing with Bloody Elbow since March 2015. When not writing, Lucas also teaches English. In his free time, he enjoys reading, slapping the bass guitar and traveling.

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