“Chin is a little suspect” - Kevin Belingon details John Lineker’s biggest weakness

Former ONE bantamweight world champion Kevin Belingon is not sold on John Lineker’s supposed granite chin. The pair of heavy hitters squared off at ONE: Inside the Matrix 3 in 2020, where ‘Hands of Stone’ knocked out the Filipino fighter in the second round.

While ‘The Silencer’ admitted that he was unable to test this theory during their fight, he believes that the reigning ONE bantamweight world champion’s durability is better on paper than in real life.

Belingon cited the Brazilian’s most recent bout against Bibiano Fernades.

‘The Flash’, who’s known more for his grappling than striking, was able to crack Lineker with a brutal left hook that almost took him out.

Belingon, who owns 10 KO wins to his name, believes he could have finished Lineker if only he was able to reach his chin.

The Team Lakay standout told ONE Championship in an exclusive interview:

“If anything, I think John Lineker’s chin is a little suspect. That might work against him in this fight. I wasn’t able to hit him with anything, but if I had been able to touch his chin, he would go down.”

He added:

“We all saw his fight with Bibiano Fernandes. Bibiano was able to hit him with a hook to the chin, and Lineker was almost out. I think that’s his biggest weakness, his chin.”

John Lineker eventually weathered early adversity and ended Fernandes’ reign with one violent blow in the ensuing round.

That flash knockdown was certainly a close call for the 32-year-old. As it stands, Lineker is yet to get knocked out in his MMA career and remains unbeaten inside the circle in his first four bouts.

‘Hands of Stone’ is known for his eagerness to trade bombs, and he’s willing to absorb shots just to land some of his own. His opponents are usually on the short end of these exchanges, considering the ridiculous fight-ending power that he possesses on those fists.

Meanwhile, we’ll see if Belingon’s predictions are right soon enough. On October 21, Lineker will have his first official title defense against a young and hungry challenger in Fabricio Andrade in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3.

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John Lineker says Fabricio Andrade will have to ‘kill him’ to beat him

Contrary to Belingon’s remarks, John Lineker stands by his reputation as one of the most durable fighters on the planet.

While Fabricio Andrade might just be the most skilled opponent he’s ever faced, ‘Hands of Stone’ doesn’t believe that he’ll be the first fighter to knock him out.

Lineker told ONE Championship:

“I think that [knocking me out] will be a very difficult thing for him to achieve. He won’t knock me out in any round. I’m a very tough fighter. It’s not enough for my opponent to beat me. He has to kill me if he wants to beat me.”

He added:

“So, I warn him to forget about it because he won’t knock me out in any round. He’ll just keep it in his imagination because it sure as hell won’t happen in real life.”