John Lineker feels as excited as a MMA newcomer as he makes the walk to a ONE Championship cage for the first time on Friday, but the experience of having 40 professional bouts — 16 of those in the UFC — could propel him into title contention right away.
Lineker, who makes his promotional debut against Muin Garufov at ONE: Dawn of Valor in Jakarta, Indonesia, doesn’t expect to be matched up against bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes with a win on Friday, but agrees that the current landscape in the division favors him.
“I don’t think my second fight will be for the title after I defeat Gafurov, but I think it’s gonna happen really soon,” Lineker told MMA Fighting.