The always powerful and free swinging John Lineker looked to improve on his first-round knockout of Michael McDonald back in July when he met former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight title challenger John Dodson last night (Sat., Oct. 1, 2016) at UFC Fight Night 96 live on FOX Sports 1 from Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Lineker, who has won his last five Octagon appearances, was looking to use "The Magician" as a catapult towards a bantamweight title shot.
In a five-round war that saw blinding speed go up against crushing power, Dodson danced around the cage and did everything he could to avoid dangerous exchanges with Lineker. While Dodson was able to land some solid body punches and quick combinations along the way, "Hands of Stone" offered too much pressure and forward movement to overlook. It was a really close contest, but Lineker did enough damage to earn the split-decision win.
The full video highlights can be seen above courtesy of UFC.
With this win, Lineker moves even closer to a bantamweight title shot opposite current champion Dominick Cruz. He certainly has some work to do in order to mix in more offensive versatility in the future, but Lineker's power is for real. Anybody in the division, including Cruz, must take notice moving forward.
For complete UFC Fight Night 96 results and analysis click here.