Three challengers for new ONE champ John Lineker

There’s a new king in ONE Championship’s bantamweight division, and it looks like he’s going to have an interesting reign.

John “Hands of Stone” Lineker lived up to his nickname when he knocked out the erstwhile ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes to hoist the crown in one of the main events of ONE: Lights Out last Friday from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Lineker got the finish near the end of the second round, flattening Fernandes with a booming left hand to claim his third-straight finish in The Home of Martial Arts.

With the Brazilian winning, it opens up a lot of interesting matchups in the division. Here are three men who could challenge him next.

“Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il

The South Korean would offer an interesting matchup with the freshly crowned world champion given the power in both of their hands.

Together, the two power hitters have a combined 25 knockouts between them, making this match a “don’t blink” kind of affair given how both stars can finish a fight in an instant.

They’re also two of the best body hitters in the game today, evident in their respective matches against former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, where they peppered the Filipino with blistering shots to the body.

Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade

Photo from ONEFC.com

If the battle between Lineker and Fernandes was any indication of how an all-Brazil bout will go in the future, then count this fight in too.

Andrade is also known as a great striker, but while Kwon and Lineker are known more for their boxing, it’s Andrade’s Muay Thai that makes him dangerous.

A well-placed knee over Team Lakay’s Jeremy “The Juggernaut” Pacatiw in his last bout further cemented Andrade’s spot as one of the most dangerous strikers in the organization, and a clash with Lineker would be nothing short of fireworks.

Stephen “The Sniper” Loman

It was a fight that was supposed to happen last year, but as fate would have it, it had to be scratched. That doesn’t mean they can’t reschedule though.

Loman put himself on the map in ONE Championship after a stunning one-punch KO win of Yusup “Maestro” Saadulaev in his debut, showing that he has knockout power too.

But the Team Lakay star isn’t just another knockout artist from Baguio City. He can present Lineker with different challenges with his aggressive takedowns and top control, making this a must-watch clash.