John Lineker explains why he looked for takedowns in first fight with Fabricio Andrade

Much has been made of John Lineker shooting for takedowns in his first bout with Fabricio Andrade—and the former champ revealed why he was looking to get the fight to the ground last October.

Prior to their first meeting, Andrade asserted that he'd turn Lineker into a wrestler. This proved to be true as 'Hands of Stone' shot for takedowns after getting out-struck in the early portions of the match.

John Lineker explained why he was looking for takedowns in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, stating:

"The striking was not favorable for me, so I had to change my strategy. The takedowns were to stop the momentum, to work on my jiu-jitsu, and to win the fight little by little."

The 32-year-old managed to slow the momentum of the rising contender before an illegal groin strike ended the fight, resulting in a no-contest ruling.

Watch the fight-ending sequence from ONE Fight Night 3 on Prime Video below:

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John Lineker hoping to avoid same mistakes from his first meeting with Fabricio Andrade

A seasoned MMA veteran, Lineker will enter the rematch against Andrade with some adjustments. The Brazilian is claiming he'll be tougher to hit this time around, telling Sportskeeda:

“He knows how to use knockout blows a lot, with knees, kicks... He's very skilled. It didn't surprise me too much, because everything we expected happened. I was already expecting the knees and kicks. He knows how to execute the blows with excellence, but now I'm going to take more care of that part and stay off target.”

Both bantamweight title contenders are bonafide knockout artists, owning six combined knockouts in their nine ONE Championship appearances leading up to their first matchup.

Moreover, neither competitor has suffered a defeat inside the circle, despite facing some of the division's very best fighters. While John Lineker has lost a few fights via submission, he has proven to be incredibly durable, not having been knocked out in his career.

Make sure to tune in to ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24 to watch John Lineker rematch Fabricio Andrade for the vacant bantamweight world title, live from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Fans with an Amazon subscription in North America can watch the event for free on Prime Video.