(James Goyder is the owner/editor of AsianMMA.com)
John Lineker knocked out Bibiano Fernandes in the second round of a thrilling fight at ONE: ‘Lights Out’. Both men had their moments but the UFC veteran did the most damage and his opponent’s face was a bloody mess by the end.
Fernandes dropped Lineker with a left hook late in the opening round. It was his best moment of the fight but he followed the challenger to the ground and ended up in bottom position.
From there Lineker went to work with ground and pound and by the end of the round the champion’s face was badly swollen. They continued to trade punches in the second stanza as Fernandes easily completed a single leg takedown.
He also managed to Lineker down right at the start of the fight but couldn’t capitalize with any ground and pound or submission attempts. Fernandes has not fought since 2019 and the furious pace looked like it was taking its tool in the second round.
He dropped his hands as Lineker looked to rip hooks to the body and left the opening for a left hook to the head. It landed flush and the champion was knocked out instantly, the referee diving in to save him from further punishment.
With the win Lineker captures the ONE Championship bantamweight belt and improves to 35-9. Fernandes drops to 24-5 after suffering just his second loss since signing for the promotion in 2012.
In the co-main event Thanh Le knocked out Garry Tonon to defend his featherweight title for the first time. The challenger tried for a leg lock and the champion briefly seemed to be in trouble but he countered with punches.
They found their mark and Tonon was forced to let go of the leg after losing consciousness. The finish came at the 0:56 mark and Le improves to 13-2 while his opponent drops to 6-1.
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ONE: ‘Lights Out’, Singapore, March 11th
- Thanh Le def. Garry Tonon via KO (Punches) at 0:56 of Round 1
- John Lineker def. Bibiano Fernandes via KO (Punch) at 3:40 of Round 1
- Martin Nguyen def. Kirill Gorobets via TKO (Punches) at 2:18 of Round 3
- Kickboxing: Iraj Azizpour def. Ismael Londt via TKO (Punches) at 2:01 of Round 2
- Adrian Mattheis def. Alex Silva via TKO (Punches) at 0:05 of Round 2
- Kickboxing: Zhang Peimian def. Josh Tonna via TKO (Punches) at 2:11 of Round 2
- Eko Roni Saputra def. Chan Rothana via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)at 1:34 of Round 1
- Muay Thai: Iman Barlow def. Daniela Lopez via TKO (Doctor Stoppage)at 1:39 of Round 1
- Muay Thai: Liam Nolan def. Kim Kyung Lock via TKO (Knees) at 1:02 of Round 1
- Heqin Lin def. Milagros Lopez via Decision (Unanimous)
John Lineker knocks out Bibiano Fernandes at ONE: ‘Lights Out’
