At ONE 168: Denver, John Lineker made a splash in his Muay Thai debut for ONE Championship. “Hands of Stone” lived up to his name with a second-round knockout over Asa Ten Pow.
The former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion was pleased that his performance went according to plan.
“I think I did very well, especially considering that my specialty is boxing. I managed to do everything I had planned, and I was very happy with the result,” Lineker told ONE.
“I had a great performance, I managed to be very aggressive, as I am in all my fights.”
Lineker’s strategy is always the same, no matter the sport. He is known for his aggressive style with crushing hooks and relentless power.
That simple strategy has made him a star and will continue no matter in MMA or Muay Thai.
“We never know if we’re going to win by knockout or on points, but I always go for the knockout. And this fight was no different. I went in looking for the knockout the whole time and I got it once again,” the Brazilian stated.
“In all my fights, the fans can always expect a knockout because that’s what I do. I don’t leave the result in the hands of the judges.”
Although Lineker defeated a fantastic striker in his Muay Thai debut, there are no plans to transition full-time and chase the gold in the bantamweight division.
“Hands of Stone” still wants to reclaim MMA gold, but he is more than willing to stay active by taking other exciting matchups that fans can relish.
“My focus is MMA. I don’t plan on switching to Muay Thai [permanently], but I want to do other Muay Thai fights, just to stay active. I can even fight in submission grappling or do some super-fight with special rules,” Lineker said.
“In MMA, my focus is to fight for the title again, regardless of who holds the belt. It’s currently with Fabrício Andrade, so my focus is to fight him for the title.”
When eyeing potential meetings in Muay Thai, Lineker clearly wants to compete against the sport’s top stars. Still, one ironclad name is at the top of the list.
“In Muay Thai, a fight against Rodtang [Jitmuangnon] would be interesting, and I think the fans would really enjoy watching it. I think it would be insane,” Lineker admitted.
“A fight against Superlek [Kiatmoo9] or [Jonathan] Haggerty would definitely be crazy! It would be a war, I have no doubt about that. But the Muay Thai fight I have in mind would be against Rodtang. Because of the height and physical structure, this fight would be a great match. It would be a great show for the fans!”
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