John Lineker feels like he can hang pretty well in the bantamweight division. The former flyweight was forced up to 135 pounds after missing weight a few times, but told MMA Fighting that he was a bit surprised by his first BW fight against Francisco Rivera. The bout was all-out action, with both men bombing away with strikes in one of the better back-and-forths of 2015. After a couple of minutes, Lineker connected with a hard shot, then forced a stunned Rivera to tap to a guillotine. He said he wasn't looking for the sub, but he took it because it was there:
"That wasn’t my strategy, actually, but I believe a lot in my left hand," Lineker said. "I know that when it lands, it rocks you, so I went for it. My original strategy was to tire him out in the fence in the first round, but my hand landed and I changed my strategy."
The current number 12 at bantamweight says he wants a top opponent next, and believes that he can fight more now due to the easier weight cut:
"I hope my next fight is against a top 5," he said. "I won’t pick and choose, but I hope they give me a top 5 so I can get closer to the bantamweight title. One or two more intense wins like this last one, and I think they could give me a title shot."
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"I still cut a lot of weight to fight at bantamweight, but it’s not like it used to be before," Lineker said. "I believe I can fight more often now. I had to wait five months between fights to make 125 pounds, so I can fight more now that I’m at 135."
Finally, he said that he's confident he could knock out the two top dogs in the division, T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz:
"For sure. They move a lot, but that’s not a problem. They would have to get closer to hit me, and once you get closer, I’m hitting you back. I would not hunt them down, I would let them come."
Lineker also picked Dillashaw to beat Cruz in their January title fight. The 25-year-old Brazilian has won seven out of his last eight overall in the UFC.