John Lineker thinks acclimatizing to Thailand will be key to beating Fabricio Andrade: “I’ve got to get here earlier”

John Lineker believes his best chance of defeating Fabricio Andrade in a potential rematch will be to arrive early and acclimate to Thailand’s sometimes unforgiving climate.

‘Hands of Stone’ once again lived up to his moniker at ONE Fight Night 13, scoring a buzzer-beating knockout against the gutsy Kim Jae Woong inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The performance would have earned Lineker an extra $50,000, but unfortunately, the Brazilian stepped on the scale heavy, disqualifying him from pocketing the bonus check.

Despite that, John Lineker believes he has done enough to earn an opportunity to complete his trilogy with reigning ONE bantamweight world champion, Fabricio Andrade.

Speaking with ONE Championship, ‘Hands of Stone’ believes the best opportunity for him to come out on top and reclaim 26 pounds of ONE gold is to arrive early and properly acclimate to the time and weather of Thailand:

“I’m going to come earlier so I can fight on an even table with [Andrade],” Lineker said. “I’ve got to get here earlier. It’s very difficult to fight coming from Brazil in a short time and fighting people that live here.”

John Lineker also suggested that the early arrival will make it easier to properly cut weight ahead of each contest, a problem that has plagued him throughout most of his career.

Aside from his struggles on the scale, ‘Hands of Stone’ has looked nothing short of spectacular in the circle, scoring impressive wins over Kevin Belingon, Bibiano Fernandes, and the aforementioned Kim Jae Woong. The only man he failed to come out on top against was Fabricio Andrade. However, if Lineker gets his way, he’ll have the chance at redemption.

If you missed any of the action or just want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE Fight Night 13 replay can be watched anytime on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.