Former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion John Lineker will enter the Muay Thai world for the first time at ONE 168: Denver next week, and he plans to mark his arrival with a brutal knockout win.
The Brazilian star is scheduled to meet Asa Ten Pow in a bantamweight bout next Saturday, September 7, inside Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena, at what will be ONE Championship’s highly anticipated return to U.S. soil.
Lineker is expecting a tough test against his American foe, who is a proven commodity in Muay Thai. But brawls are what he enjoys most, and he’s confident he’ll be able to get the job done in his debut.
“It’s going to be a very tough fight. It’s going to be a great show because it’s going to be all about striking. I’m going to do everything I can to neutralize his strengths and get my game right,” he said.
“I always look for the knockout, and it certainly won’t be any different this time. I’m going to look for the knockout all the time, round by round, and I hope I can do it. I see myself knocking out Asa Ten Pow because that’s what I like, and that’s what I do when I step into the cage.”
While many are excited to see Lineker in the “art of eight limbs,” he assures fans that the move is not permanent.
The 34-year-old is still the top-ranked contender in ONE Championship’s bantamweight MMA division, and he sees himself back there sooner rather than later.
ONE Championship offers its athletes numerous options when it comes to competing, so Lineker is simply letting his creativity fly, for now, after an impressive career in mixed martial arts.
“I don’t intend to move to Muay Thai, but I want to continue doing these special ONE fights. Now I’m going to fight in Muay Thai. But who knows, maybe later I’ll fight in the submission grappling division or do a super-fight with special rules,” he revealed.
“Everything is on the table. I want to test myself more and more. But my focus is MMA. That’s where I want to continue working.”
