ONE FC Champion John Lineker is Stripped of His Belt For Missing Weight
The former ONE Bantamweight champion John Lineker was stripped of his title at the weigh-in ahead of his first defense against Fabricio Andrade. He has been fined 20% of his purse and will not be eligible to win the championship back on fight night.
Lineker was set to weigh 145 lbs or less but came in at 145.5, and then at 145.75 on the next attempt, per SCMP.
This weight miss has come as a large surprise considering that Lineker has consistently made weight in ONE, and even used to compete at a much lighter weight class in the UFC.
Lineker’s manager, Alex Davis, spoke about the situation:
“When a fighter doesn’t make weight at ONE, he goes back to square zero because he has to make weight and pass the hydration test,”
“That mistake happened because his scale was off in his room, lighter than the official one. When that happens, you have a second attempt to make weight but you have to pass the hydration test again. He couldn’t do it.”
ONE Championship follows a strict weight-cutting policy in which fighters must maintain a certain level of hydration leading up to a fight to ensure that they are not cutting an excess amount. Lineker failed to make weight the first time and was unable to cut more due to the hydration clause.
Lineker has missed weight before in the UFC, failing to make the mark 5 times, tied with Charles Oliveira for the most in UFC history.
The fight will go on at ONE on Prime Video 3 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Lineker entered the bout as the defending champion and Fabricio as the rising challenger. Now only Fabricio Andrade can walk away with the title.
