John Lineker’s reign of terror continues in his new home at ONE Championship.
In his third promotional appearance, Lineker used effective bodywork throughout the opening round, which led to a major knockdown and a right-hand fight that ended with a grounded Troy Worthen, leaving him cold at the 4:35 point of the first round in the main event of ONE on TNT 3. With his second consecutive finish, the Brazilian superpower improved to 3-0 under the ONE banner since transferring from the UFC.
Lineker dug into Worthen’s body with powerful punches to start the fight. After a brief break in the action from an accidental low strike, Lineker kept aiming for Worthen’s center section and legs. Less than 90 seconds later, Worthen showed the effects of Lineker’s working with stretch marks on his stomach. Worthen would stick hard, but every time he threw a punch, Lineker answered with a barrage of body shots. Hands of Stone started to score in the face of Worthen as the opening round went on before the American fell short with a leg kick.
With just over 30 seconds to go in the first, Lineker landed a right-hand piston to drop Worthen. Another right hand knocked Worthen out.
After the win, Lineker proclaimed current Bantamweight Champion Bibiano Fernandes.
“I came here to become a champion,” said Lineker. “I want Bibiano to show that I am better than him and that I am the best in the world.
The main show on TNT started with a flyweight fight between Reece McLaren and Yuya Wakamatsu. The Japanese highlight came from heavy shots to end the fight quickly. McLaren got through the aggressive start from Wakamatsu and finished the opening lap with full mount, hard elbows and multiple submission attempts.
Wakamatsu turned things back on in the second and got McLaren into trouble. McLaren would open the third to get the fight on the mat, but Wakamatsu showed excellent takedown defense, forcing McLaren to pay every chance he could, including some mean knees in the last 30 seconds of the fight. After 15 minutes, all judges saw it for Wakamatsu.
In the last preliminary round Ok Rae Yoon achieved a decisive victory over Marat Gafarov. With his third straight win, the South Korean fighter will take on former UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez in next week’s ONE on TNT 4 event.
Get the full ONE on TNT 3 results below:
John Lineker def. Troy Worthen via KO (punches) – Round 1, 4:35
Yuya Wakamatsu defeats. Reece McLaren by unanimous decision
Preliminary card
Okay Rae Yoon def. Marat Gafarov by unanimous decision
Miao Li Tao def. Ryuto Sawada by unanimous decision
Nieky Holzken def. John Wayne Parr via KO (kick) – Round 2, 1:23 (muay thai)