John Lineker is stepping into his first Muay Thai fight in his next outing, but he made it clear that it’s not going to be a permanent move.

On U.S. primetime on Friday, September 6, the heavy-hitting Brazilian will square off against American striker Asa Ten Pow in a bantamweight Muay Thai match at ONE 168: Denver. The event emanates from Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

John Lineker’s versatility shines in ONE Championship’s multi-discipline arena

Known for his punishing strikes that earned him the nickname “Hands of Stone” in the all-encompassing sport of mixed martial arts, Lineker will be testing his skills in an all-striking affair for the first time in his ONE tenure.

ONE Championship shows regularly showcase MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling in its shows. The organization has also not shied away from offering innovative matches like the mixed rules contest that featured Demetrious Johnson and Rodtang Jitmuangnon back at ONE X in March 2022 or the special striking rules match between ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Champion Xiong Jing Nan and Wondergirl Jaroonsak at ONE Fight Night 14 in September last year.

Speaking about the promotion in an interview, John Lineker shared his interest in taking part in the multiple disciplines featured in the world’s largest martial arts organization if he was offered a good match. However, he remains adamant that MMA is his sport.

“I don’t intend to move to Muay Thai, but I want to continue doing these special ONE fights. Now I’m going to fight in Muay Thai,” he said “But who knows, maybe later I’ll fight in the submission grappling division or do a super-fight with special rules. Everything is on the table. I want to test myself more and more. But my focus is MMA. That’s where I want to continue working.”

Lineker’s future prospects in ONE Championship

It will be the second time that Lineker is taking a new challenge in ONE. In his last outing at ONE 165 last January, he stepped in at the last minute to face Shinya Aoki in an openweight MMA bout. While he lost the match in the first round, there is clearly no shame in tapping out to a grappling legend two weight classes heavier than him on a few hours’ notice.

But make no mistake, the 34-year-old is a jiu-jitsu brown belt, so he could be a tough customer in submission grappling if he is paired up against someone in his division. Additionally, as part of a roster that is hailed as the home for the best strikers on the planet, the former bantamweight MMA king has plenty of options to go up against in a potential super-fight in the future.

However, focusing on MMA is by no means a disappointment. After all, the OCS Jiu-Jitsu athlete has produced two massive wins in his last three outings and is still the clear top contender for Fabricio Andrade’s bantamweight MMA gold. For now, fight fans will get to see how the heavy punches of John Lineker match up against a striking specialist in Ten Pow at ONE 168.