John Lineker Wants Top Five Opponent Or Title Fight Next
Heavy handed bantamweight contender John Lineker picked up his second consecutive victory last night, scoring a third-round knockout over Brian Kelleher. The win didn’t come easily, however, as Lineker actually admitted that he was ‘surprised’ by how durable the Long Island native is:
“I sure was surprised,” Lineker told MMAjunkie. “I threw everything I had at him, and he absorbed it all.
“At the end of the first round, I said, ‘What now?’”
With the win, Lineker has now won four of his last five bouts and should be in line for a big fight next. The only problem, however, is that the majority of the fighters ranked ahead of him are tied up.
For example, No. 4-ranked Jimmie Rivera is scheduled to take on No. 5-ranked Marlon Moraes in the main event of UFC Fight Night 131 on June 1 in Utica, New York.
Moving on, No. 3-ranked Raphael Assuncao is set to take on Rob Font at July 7’s UFC 226 from Las Vegas, Nevada, while No. 2-ranked Dominick Cruz has been dealing with an injury and No. 1-ranked Cody Garbrandt is set to rematch champion TJ Dillashaw at UFC 227 in August.
With that being said, options are limited for “Hands of Stone”, but he’s made it clear that he’s interested in a big fight nonetheless:
“Ranked or not ranked, he showed how tough he is,” Lineker said. “He sold the fight very well. I think the UFC will see this fight and will think that I deserve to get a top-five (opponent) and a title shot.”
Who would you like to see Lineker take on next?
