“ONE Championship: Bad Blood” has lost its main event during fight week.
John Lineker (34-9) has been forced out of Friday’s bantamweight title fight against champion Bibiano Fernandes (24-4) due to a positive COVID-19. The news was first reported by MMA Fighting on Wednesday.
Lineker took to Instagram to address his withdrawal, saying that the promotion’s plans are to reschedule the bout.
The pair will have been rescheduled for the second time. Fernandes and Lineker originally were slated for the Dec. 5 “ONE: X” 10th anniversary show in Singapore, but the event was canceled due to rising COVID-19 cases on the island city-state.
Per promotion officials, the interim heavyweight title fight between Kirill Grishenko vs. Anatoly Malykhin will now serve as “Bad Blood’s” headliner on Friday.
“ UPDATE The ONE Interim Heavyweight World Title fight between Anatoly Malykhin and Kirill Grishenko is your new main event for this Friday!
“John Lineker had to withdraw from his bout against Bibiano Fernandes due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, but their fight will be rebooked ASAP.”
“ONE Championship: Bad Blood” takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The main card streams on the B/R Live app Friday at 7:30 a.m. ET.