After former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz was forced out of UFC 219 with a broken arm, rising title contender Jimmie Rivera was left without an opponent. It was supposed to be Rivera’s coming out party and final push towards a title shot with current divisional champion T.J. Dillashaw.
Now that Cruz has suffered yet another injury, the search for Rivera’s next opponent has begun. While the UFC’s 135-pound classes offers a ton of talent these days, one name is beginning to stand out.
"I would fight with Jimmie Rivera. I’m at the UFC's disposal to fight him," UFC bantamweight contender John Lineker told AG. Fight for FloCombat. “I'm ready. I want to fight again, and it’ll definitely be a different fight from my last performance against Marlon Vera. I'll be more in the rhythm and John Lineker will fight as he always has: aggressively. All the time, I am ready."
Lineker, 27, is coming off a one-sided beatdown of prospect Marlon Vera at UFC Fight Night 119. Before that, “Hands of Stone” had racked off four-straight wins after returning to the division in 2015. That streak ended when the Brazilian knockout artist was steamrolled by Dillashaw at UFC 207 this past December.
"If I were to fight TJ Dillashaw again, I’d put a different pace and rhythm on him," Lineker said. "I wouldn’t wait that long for him [to engage first]. He would act first. I believe that if I acted first [instead], I'd be able to time his takedowns and his kicks.
"I ended up waiting for him a little bit [at UFC 207]. I think that was because I had fought a lot that year and I ended up feeling a bit too tense. But sure enough, if I could do it again, I’d enforce my own rhythm on him more to time his kicks and his takedowns.”
While Lineker is going to have to win a few more fights before locking down his first UFC title shot, a victory over a streaking contender like Rivera will surely help his cause.
"I think I'm not far from a title fight and a rematch with [Dillashaw]," he added. "I think that my victory over Marlon Vera has put me back into the mix, and I believe that another one or two wins and I'm in talks again to fight the champion."
Outside of Lineker, UFC may decide to bring Marlon Moraes in to fight Rivera after the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) champion captured a split-decision win over veteran John Dodson at UFC Fight Night 120 last week.
UFC 219 is scheduled to take place on Dec. 30 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will feature a women’s featherweight title fight between current champion Cris Cyborg and former bantamweight queen Holly Holm.
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