John Lineker: To Get A Rematch With TJ Dillashaw For Title And Plan To Defeat Jimmie Rivera

The Former UFC bantamweight king Dominick Cruz suffered a broken arm and was forced to step out of his scheduled bout with Jimmie Rivera at UFC 219 on Dec. 30; John Lineker was quick to step up and take that challenge.

With a win at UFC 219, Lineker hopes to close out the year in spectacular fashion and take next step closer to a rematch with current champion TJ Dillashaw.

“Hands of Stone” was defeated by Dillashaw in 2016 and wants nothing more than another go take another shot against him inside the cage. A lingering issue besides his upcoming fight against Rivera is the current 135-pound champion’s pursuit of a super fight with flyweight king Demetrious Johnson.

And Lineker recently expressed his dislike on that. (Via Flocombat)

“This business of challenging people in other divisions, I don’t like this,” Lineker said. “Every fighter has to stay quietly in his division and stay in his corner. But the UFC is now giving these opportunities to fight in other weight categories.”

“Stagnation will not happen, because [TJ Dillashaw] still has the bantamweight belt,” Lineker said. “Either way, he’ll have to defend the title. But in my opinion, everyone should stay in their division instead of challenging people elsewhere to fight.”

GSP just left the middleweight division in just a month after crowing a champion. Dillashaw is training right now to change weight division and challenged Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Meanwhile, John Lineker is about to fight Jimmie Rivera, and he’s not happy.

Lineker has convinced an awesome performance at UFC 219 can get him within reach of the belt.

“I believe I deserve a title shot if I win,” Lineker said. “I’ve been looking for this from the beginning of my career in the UFC and I think I’m ready. In fact, I don’t just think so, I’m sure that I’m ready. I had a loss against TJ Dillashaw, but I went back home and reviewed the mistakes. Sure enough, with a convincing win [against Jimmie Rivera], I think I deserve my opportunity to fight for the title.

“The fact that I lost to TJ Dillashaw and him being the current champion doesn’t get in the way [of a potential title shot] because it’s a fight. Every fight has its own story, so I want to beat Rivera and get my chance to fight for the title.”

Rivera who has an impressive resume with only one loss as a professional.

Published on December 8, 2017 at 12:00 am
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