Former UFC bantamweight contender John Lineker seems to have an opponent for his ONE Championship debut.
As per his social media, Lineker wrote that it would be Muin Gafurov who would be welcoming him to the promotion. However, it doesn’t seem to be confirmed yet, as Lineker also added he’s open to facing anyone.
“I cant wait to put on a show for my new fans in One Championship!” Lineker tweeted. “If it Muin Gafurov who will welcome me, awsome! But to me doesnt matter just line them up!
According to MMA Fighting, however, that matchup is set and could take place in Jakarta, Indonesia on October 25. Lineker will be competing as a bantamweight, but given that ONE Championship’s divisions are one weight class above, that means he will be competing at 145 pounds.
“Hands of Stone” was released by the UFC earlier this year after pulling out of a fight with Rob Font. He was notably stepping in as a short-notice replacement for Cody Stamann, but given his past history of missing weight and pulling out, the promotion decided to part ways.
As for his potential opponent in Gafurov, the Tajikistan native is 15-2 and a winner of his last five fights. His most recent outing was a knockout win over Leandro Issa at ONE: Kingdom of Heroes last year.
What do you make of the matchup? Are you excited to see Lineker fight in Asia?
