“He's a very big name” – Liam Harrison honored to draw MMA superstar John Lineker in his return fight

Veteran British striker Liam Harrison is thrilled to be matched up against fellow seasoned fighter John Lineker for his scheduled return to action in January.

The two respected bantamweight fighters will collide at ONE Fight Night 18 on Prime Video on January 12 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It will be played in Harrison’s lane of Muay Thai.

‘Hitman’ will be making his return to competition after injuring his knee in August 2022. He said it is an honor to go up against a decorated opponent in ‘Hands of Stone’, just as he is expecting an exciting contest.

Liam Harrison shared to the South China Morning Post in an interview:

“I just want a f***king fight. I didn't even know he was ranked in UFC back then till I googled him when the match went with him. He's obviously a very big name in the MMA world, excuse my ignorance for that but I don't really follow MMA at all. He's obviously a massive name in it, he was top five UFC, he's a ONE Championship champion.”

Check out what he had to say below:

Liam Harrison injured his knee in the opening round of his title clash against then-bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Hama after it took a number of punishing kicks. Unable to continue, he was forced to take a technical knockout loss.

He then went to surgery and thereafter began the recovery process.

John Lineker, for his part, was last in action in September, beating Filipino bantamweight contender Stephen Loman by unanimous decision in their MMA showdown.

ONE Fight Night 18 is headlined by the flyweight kickboxing title clash between reigning champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 of Thailand and challenger Elias Mahmoudi of Algeria. It is available live on US primetime free of charge for those with a Prime Video subscription in North America.

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Liam Harrison says losing is part of Muay Thai

Having competed in Muay Thai for a long period now, Liam Harrison knows that things will not always go one’s way and that losing is part of doing the “art of eight limbs.”

“Hitman’ shared this in a recent appearance on Caffeine & Canines podcast, when asked for his advice to young Muay Thai practitioners, saying:

“You need to learn to live with losing in Muay Thai because it's not like boxing where you get all these boxers, we might get to 30 and all, and yeah, because there's too many ways to lose in Thai boxing – knees, elbows, clinch work."

Watch the interview below:

Bouncing back from a loss is what the Leeds native wants to accomplish when he returns to action on January 12 at ONE Fight Night 18 on Prime Video in Bangkok, Thailand. He will take on MMA star and former ONE bantamweight champion John Lineker in a Muay Thai showdown.

Harrison is coming off a devastating TKO loss in his last fight in August 2022, where he limped off with an injured knee at the hands of Thai superstar Nong-O Hama.