Former Brave CF bantamweight champion Stephen Loman is immediately thrown into the lion’s den as he takes on long-time UFC veteran John Lineker in his ONE Championship debut in “ONE on TNT” on April 29, 2021 in Singapore.
“ONE Championship put me up against John Lineker immediately, and I can actually say, I was a bit surprised. But at the same time, I’m very happy. It’s a chance for me to fight the best, which is what I wanted. He is one of the best fighters in the division, and a very tough opponent for me,” said Loman. “I’m taking on a very dangerous man who is maybe the top-ranked fighter in the division now next to the bantamweight king, Bibiano [Fernandes]. It’s not an easy fight, by any means. Lineker has a lot of power.”
After fighting locally in the Philippines under the URCC and PXC banner, Loman made his way to the Middle East in 2017, fighting in Brave CF’s Kingdom of Champions show in Bahrain.
The 29-year-old Loman, who trains under the guidance of Mark Sangiao of Team Lakay, snagged the vacant Brave CF bantamweight belt with a stoppage win over Canadian Gary Mangat.
He successfully defended his belt in four title defenses from 2018 to 2019. He beat Frans Mlambo, Felipe Efrain, Elias Boudegzdame and Louie Sanoudakis.
Loman was signed to Asia’s biggest MMA organization and joins his teammates ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio, Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Honorio Banario, Geje Eustaquio, Lito Adiwang and Gina Iniong.
Lineker is currently the No. 1 ranked bantamweight and is next in line to face ONE bantamweight king Bibiano Fernandes. However, he must take care of business first and dispose of Loman if he wants to get his title shot.
The 31-year-old Lineker is one of the best and most experienced bantamweights in the ONE Championship roster. He had a long stint at the UFC, in which he had a total of 16 fights from 2012 to 2019. He has fought elite names with the likes of John Dodson, TJ Dillashaw, Marlon Vera, Ian McCall and Ali Bagautinov.
Lineker earned his lofty ranking after a second round knockout win over Belingon on Nov. 13, 2020.
Loman is 14-2, while Lineker is 33-9.
The main event of “ONE on TNT” is a title defense of ONE light heavyweight champion Aung La N Sang (26-11) against former middleweight champion Vitaly Bigdash (10-2) in trilogy.
Also in the card is a striker vs. grappler bout between Sage Northcutt (11-3) and Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki (46-9). (EKA)