“To attract everyone’s attention” – John Lineker hopes bantamweight fighters on ONE Fight Night 18 will put the division on notice

Ahead of the first ONE Championship Fight Night of 2024, John Lineker has one specific hope in mind for the promotion’s return to the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

ONE Fight Night 18 kicks proceedings off on January 13 with a card that features multiple contests taking place in the bantamweight division.

Lineker was previously the world champion of the division and likely would have been for a long time had it not been for the rise of current kingpin Fabricio Andrade.

Rather than being critical or spiteful of his fellow contenders, ‘Hands of Stone’ is looking forward to them going out there and putting on a show.

John Lineker told Sportskeeda MMA that he hopes his fellow bantamweights will represent the division and what it brings to the table in the first event of the year:

“I hope that everyone in the division can continue delivering excitement and putting on exciting fights for the fans so that we can continue to attract everyone's attention and maintain the high level of the division.”

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John Lineker will also potentially have an eye out for his next opponent

Despite suffering a defeat to kick off 2023, where he was beaten by Andrade for the vacant title, John Lineker is still the top contender in the bantamweight MMA division.

Since that forgettable encounter, the former world champion has rebounded with two impressive wins, but it may take an extended win streak to secure a third fight against ‘Wonder Boy’.

At ONE Fight Night 18, Kwon Won Il will take on Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in one of three bantamweight contests taking place on the night.

South Korea’s Kwon Won Il will undoubtedly draw the most attention, having produced back-to-back finishes over Artem Belakh and Mark Abelardo, who are both in action on this card.

While a third consecutive win may be enough for him to earn a rematch with Andrade, Lineker will also have eyes on ‘Pretty Boy’ as potentially the third win that he needs to get another shot at the gold.

ONE Fight Night 18 will air live and free in U.S. primetime for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription on January 12. Check your local listings for more details.