American John Lineker made a statement in the main event of ONE on TNT III Wednesday night.
The former UFC bantamweight used superior striking punctuated by a devastating right hand to registered a quick first-round TKO of Brazilian opponent Troy Worthen.
Lineker (34-9-0) started early, stalking and softening up the taller Worthen’s head and body. He also stuffed a Worthen takedown, en route to a big straight right hand that floored “Pretty Boy” (7-2-0). A follow-up strike forced referee Mohamad Sulaiman to call the bout at 4:35.
The win was the third straight for Lineker in the ONE cage and one that champion Bibiano Fernandes had to be watching closely. Worthen, who took the fight on short notice, suffered his second consecutive loss.
In the co-main event, No. 4 Japanese flyweight Yuya Wakamatsu (14-4-0) used his boxing skills to take a unanimous decision victory over No. 5 Australian grappler Reece McLaren (7-2-0).
In other bouts:
Mixed Martial Arts – Bantamweight: John Lineker defeats Troy Worthen via Knockout (KO) at 4:35 of Round 1
Mixed Martial Arts – Flyweight: Yuya Wakamatsu defeats Reece McLaren via Unanimous Decision
Mixed Martial Arts – Lightweight: Ok Rae Yoon defeats Marat Gafurov via Unanimous Decision
Mixed Martial Arts – Strawweight: Miao Li Tao defeats Ryuto Sawada via Unanimous Decision
Muay Thai – Catchweight (80.8 KG): Nieky Holzken defeats John Wayne Parr via Technical Knockout (TKO) at 1:23 of Round 2
The next event is ONE on TNT IV which is scheduled for Wednesday April 28 or April 29 in Asia. In the main event, ONE light heavyweight world champion Aung La N Sang from Myanmar defends his title against Russian Vitaly Bigdash in a rubber match.
