John Lineker has reportedly been released by the UFC, as broken by MMA Junkie. The Lineker camp has declined to comment on the details of the release.
The writing was on the wall, or on the Twitter feed as it were, when John Lineker dared the UFC to release him if they were not interested in booking him more frequently:
“My last opponent fought 4 times in a year. He already has another fight! Sean likes him! I have fought only 4 times since 2016! I need to fight! If you dont like me or my style just let me go!!!” Lineker wrote.
The UFC heard their 16-fight veteran loud and clear and booked him in a rematch against Rob Font for UFC Greenville. Unfortunately, John Lineker was forced to pull out of the fight with Font for unknown reason. Weeks later, the UFC seemed to have taken Lineker up on his latter proposal of releasing him.
Prior to the release, John Lineker, unbeknownst to himself at the time, may have foreshadowed the events to come:
“I’m a human being like everybody else,” Lineker told MMA Junkie. “I get hurt. I get sick. Things like that happen. I’m 28 years old. This is the way I feed my family. It happens with everybody.”
Perhaps it was this latest injury bug that proved fatal to Lineker’s UFC career. John Lineker has a UFC record of 12-4, and an overall MMA record of 31-9. He has shared the Octagon with names like T.J. Dillashaw, Ian McCall, John Dodson, and Ali Bagautinov. In what will go down as his final fight in the promotion, Lineker faced Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN+8 and came up short in a unanimous decision loss.
John Lineker possessed one of the most fan-friendly styles in the UFC, with his constant pressuring, powerful hooks, and iron chin. Surely, he will be missed by many UFC fans, but it should not take long for Lineker to find a new home.
What are your initial thoughts on John Lineker’s UFC release?
