Alexey Balyko has no concern for John Lineker's dangerous striking: "He's just a man like me"

(From left) Alexey Balyko and John Lineker throw down at ONE Fight Night 25
Alexey Balyko (left) and John Lineker (right) throw down at ONE Fight Night 25. [Images via ONE Championship]

John Lineker's ferocious power has helped him to more than a dozen knockouts in his career. But Russian striking specialist Alexey Balyko doesn't make much of his foe's truck-like fists ahead of their bantamweight Muay Thai duel at ONE Fight Night 25.

'Hands of Stones' makes a quick turnaround in the discipline after using his trademark weapon to earn his first win in "The Art of Eight Limbs" via knockout against Asa Ten Pow at ONE 168: Denver last month. With momentum on his end, the Brazilian is game to rely on the same tools to dispatch the next man standing in front of him.

Speaking to ONE Championship on the aforementioned fighter's dynamite hands and what he brings to the table, Alexey Balyko offered:

"Honestly, I don't see anything particularly dangerous about him. He's just a man like me. Though, surprisingly, he's shorter than me."

Whether or not Balyko can deal with John Lineker's immense power remains to be seen, however. The Brazilian veteran has put some of the biggest names in the sport to sleep, and he wouldn't think twice about doing just that if the opportunity presents itself on fight night.

Not only that, 'Hands of Stone' has a granite jaw that provides the best layer of defense when he's throwing leather and leaving himself open.

The former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion has yet to be separated from his senses across his 49-fight resume, with his only TKO loss coming between rounds during his world title match against Fabricio Andrade.


John Lineker dissects Alexey Balyko challenge at ONE Fight Night 25

In a separate interview with the promotion, John Lineker gave a detailed breakdown of his ONE Fight Night 25 opponent, Alexey Balyko.

The knockout machine offered:

"My strong point is boxing, and I think his style is very similar to mine. I think what makes the difference is that I'm a guy who moves forward a lot, and he's a guy who moves more, especially to the side and backward. He doesn't move forward much."

John Lineker continued:

"So, I think that's what differentiates my style from his. I'm a guy who always moves forward looking for the knockout, and he's a guy who moves a lot in the cage."

ONE Fight Night 25 will be available live and free in U.S. primetime to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Edited by C. Naik
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