Brazilian slugger John Lineker has never made his intentions in the cage a secret. Known as “Hands of Stone,” the 32-year-old Lineker approaches every fight with the intention of firing heavy punches in the pocket and seeing just how long his opponent can remain standing.
A 16-time UFC veteran, Lineker is now the reigning ONE Championship bantamweight titleholder, and as he seeks the first defense of his belt, nothing is changing.
“I am the champion, and I am here to go for another victory and to go for another knockout, as always,” Lineker said through an interpreter. “I’m here to win and here to score a knockout.”
Lineker parted ways with the UFC in 2019, after a seven-year run that saw him pick up key victories over the likes of John Dodson, Rob Font, Brian Kelleher, Ian McCall, Michael McDonald and Marlon “Chito” Vera, among others. The Brazilian has since gone 4-0 for the Singapore-based ONE Championship, including three wins by knockout.
Lineker defends his ONE Championship belt Friday against Frabricio Andrade.
Courtesy of ONE Championship
Most recently, Lineker claimed the ONE Championship title with a second-round knockout of longtime titleholder Bibiano Fernandes.
Now, Lineker (35-9) seeks the first defense of his title when he takes on countryman Fabricio Andrade (8-2) in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3, which takes place at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While the event takes place early Saturday in Malaysia, it streams live in U.S. primetime Friday night (8 p.m. ET) on streaming giant Amazon Prime Video.
The 25-year-old Andrade is also an impressive knockout artist and has made it clear he thinks he’s the one who boasts the heavier hands.
“I’m the guy that has been calling him out for a long time, and he’s been ducking me,” Andrade said. “One hundred percent, I’m going to bring a show, and there’s going to be one more knockout, and we’re going to see a new champion.”
Known as “Wonder Boy,” Andrade has been quite vocal leading up to the matchup, labeling Lineker a “chicken” and looking to get under his skin at every available opportunity. For his part, Lineker said he’s found the efforts amusing but insists it hasn’t changed anything in his approach.
“I don’t feel affected at all,” Lineker said. “I find it very funny, and it motivates me to show him what the chicken here can do. The chicken can pack a big punch.”
The highly anticipated matchup tops an impressive card for ONE that also features lightweight Muay Thai champ Regian Eersel of Suriname looking to defend his title against Thailand’s Sinsamut Klinmee, as well as the crowning of the promotion’s inaugural lightweight submission grappling champion when American standout Kade Ruotolo takes on Russia’s Uali Kurzhev.
However, there is no question that the real heat of the night stands in the main event. Lineker believes Andrade should have spent less time calling him out and more preparing for what’s coming.
“I think he’s more emotional than confident,” Lineker said of his opponent. “He’s coming as the challenger, so he has all the weight on him. I’m the champion. I’m already here. I just have to keep my place. He should focus instead of talking so much to really building himself up for the fight.”
Combined, Lineker and Andrade have competed nine times for ONE, and just two of those matchups have gone the distance, with six ending via knockout. Andrade is brimming with confidence in what is certainly the biggest fight of his young career, but Lineker believes his experience edge has him primed for victory.
“It’s very nice to dream, but I’m ready,” Lineker said. “I’m ready for him. I have more than 50 fights, and I’ve never been knocked out, so yeah, he’s coming to get what is his, but I’m ready for him.
“I have my punch, and that’s all I need. You know, this is like soccer: We just need to score one goal to win. I just need one good punch to win.”
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