John Lineker is set to fight Stephen Loman at ONE Championship in Singapore, after which he hopes to try boxing, noting that he would like to capitalize on ONE’s allowance for fighters to switch sports.
John Lineker is set to make a comeback on Friday in Singapore with ONE Championship, where he aims to end Stephen Loman’s impressive 11-fight winning streak. A victory for Lineker can pave his way to another title shot. However, Lineker’s ambitions extend beyond the usual scope, he has expressed interest in exploring a different kind of challenge. The former ONE bantamweight champion has expressed an interest in testing his “Hands of Stone” in boxing.
Lineker has hopes that ONE Championship will allow him to venture into boxing, especially with his recent rival Fabricio Andrade set to compete against Jonathan Haggerty, the Muay Thai champion, later this year for the ONE kickboxing belt. For Lineker, this kind of cross-sport opportunity offered by ONE is something he wishes to exploit. “Since ONE gives us the opportunity [to compete in other sports], there’s no reason why I wouldn’t take advantage of that. I hope to be fighting in other sport in the future. If there’s a chance to fight in boxing, I would love that,” Lineker stated.
In the meantime, Lineker is focused on securing victories and working his way back to a title shot. After suffering a defeat to Andrade, he came back strong with a third-round knockout over Jae Woong Kim in August. Lineker believes that his fight against Loman could very well be a battle for the No. 1 contender spot. He commented that “the winner absolutely will fight for the title,” and that knowing there’s a chance he’ll be fighting for the title gives him added motivation. “The win [over Kim] put me back on track, and I plan on fighting for the belt again with a win over Loman,” he said.
Lineker is aware of what he’s up against in Loman, a former Brave CF champion with an impressive 17-2 record and a perfect three-fight run under the ONE banner. Loman defeated the company’s most successful champion, Bibiano Fernandes, in his last bout. Learning from his defeat to Andrade, Lineker knows not to assume his opponents will want to engage him head-on. Commenting on Loman’s style, Lineker noted “he’s very versatile and tough. He moves a lot on the feet and has great footwork and takedowns. I think I’ll need to be patient and alert to his movement and takedown attempts.” However, fans can expect him to look for a knockout opportunity like always.