At ONE Fight Night 14, which took place on September 29, the crucial fight for the bantamweight world title between Stephen Loman and John Lineker took place. The defending champion, Stephen Loman, displayed his superiority over the Filipino slugger John Lineker by earning a victory via unanimous decision.
Because of this victory, ‘Hands of Stone’ may now have another opportunity to challenge the ONE bantamweight world champion Fabricio Andrade for the belt.
It was an even more stunning victory for Lineker, especially considering the short turnaround time between when he accepted this bout and when it really took place. On August 4, 2023, at ONE Fight Night 13, he knocked out Kim Jae Woong with a technical knockout in the very last second.
In the meantime, it was Loman’s first loss in the world’s largest martial arts organization, since he had previously won each of his first three battles in the competition. During an interview with The MMA Superfan, ‘The Sniper’ detailed his time spent in the ring with Lineker, including their encounters during fights.
Loman had the impression that Lineker, who was 33 at the time, gave their battle his all since he felt the full force of Lineker’s punches and kicks, despite the fact that Loman believed that he had the advantage in the grappling department.
A spokesperson from Team Lakay was quoted as saying:
I believe he fought with everything he had in the match. He was firing off rounds that had a significant amount of force behind them. He was starting to show some signs of fatigue, and I had the impression that I was winning some of the grappling exchanges.
In addition to suffering his first defeat in ONE Championship, the No. 1 contender in his division was able to halt Loman’s 11-fight winning streak, which dated back to April 2016 and ended when they fought each other.
Despite the challenges he has faced, the 28-year-old has picked up a few important lessons that he will apply going ahead in order to improve his chances of earning a shot at the championship. In his next bout, Loman might perhaps compete against other top bantamweight contenders like Kwon Won Il or Artem Belakh. This is an option.
In North America, customers with an Amazon Prime Video subscription can view the replay of ONE Fight Night 14 whenever they want.
