They call John Lineker “Hands of Stone” for a reason.
Lineker (35-9) dethroned bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes (24-5) in the co-main event of “ONE Championship: Lights Out” on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Lineker stalked Fernandes to start, with Fernandes firing back a few leg kicks. Fernandes drove Lineker to the mat, but Lineker was able to work his way back up. As soon as Lineker got up, he started landing bombs and wobbled Fernandes with a big left hook. Lineker walked him down as the pair exchanged heavy leather in the pocket.
During the firefight, Fernandes was able to drop Lineker on the counter with a left hook of his own, but once they hit the ground, Lineker reversed position and rode out the rest of the round in top position while landing some solid ground-and-pound.
"Hands of Stone" ROCKS the Champ and "The Flash" returns fire! 👊💥👊 @johnlineker #ONELightsOut
Live & Free In 🇺🇸 | Watch Live 👉 https://t.co/0BwiA1QYgg | ONE Super App 👉 https://t.co/3F0ImkkhFC | ONE YouTube 👉 https://t.co/qlU7w0Xvne pic.twitter.com/rPG4zCIpNf
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 11, 2022
Round 2 started with Lineker ripping the body, but Fernandes landed a takedown. However, once again, Lineker made his way back up and eventually found a perfect home for his left hook, which knocked out Fernandes and earned Lineker the gold.
You could hear that through the screen 😱 @johnlineker 🇧🇷 knocks out Bibiano Fernandes with a left-handed HAMMER in Round 2 to become the new ONE bantamweight king! 👑 #ONELightsOut pic.twitter.com/WNRe1lR0FS
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 11, 2022
Lineker, a former UFC standout, made good in his pre-fight prediction and was awarded a $50,000 bonus for his highlight reel finish.
