John Lineker is a Brazilian bantamweight known for his aggressive approach and fearless fighting style. He’s a very experienced fighter for his age, having competed for numerous domestic promotions including Shooto Americas and Jungle Fight. Showing increasing consistency over the course of his career, Lineker enjoyed a very solid 2011 campaign when he became the Nitrix Fights 2011 Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion.

Linker’s primary objective is offense. He’s purely focused on attacking his opponent, pressing the action and following an ultra aggressive strategy to fulfill that desire. A high pressure striker, Lineker forces opponents to stand in front of him and will literally chase them around the ring attempting to force an exchange. Lineker wings numerous power punches (overhands, hooks, straights) to the head and body of his opponents. He packs excellent punching power, and displays good natural speed and quickness. Lineker possesses a fantastic killer instinct, and does look to finish with almost every punch he throws. Often wild with his striking, Lineker does tend to get emotional at times and go right after opponents after they’ve hit him. He gladly takes a punch to give one, and often leaves himself open to counter punchers. Not surprisingly, Lineker is frequently observed disregarding his defensive responsibilities, even going so far as to purposely drop his guard and encourage opponents to take a swing at him. Having said that, he is capable of taking a ferocious punch and his chin is perfectly suited for the style of striker he is. Going forward, Lineker will need to put work into his technical skills – especially on defense, diversify his standup, and learn how to better set up his power punches.

Lineker’s natural power is evident in his ability to take opponents to the mat from the clinch. His top position grappling tactics are comparable to his approach to standing, as Lineker chooses to employ a very aggressive ground and pound strategy. Not known as a technical ground player, Lineker will need to continue working on his grappling game. He isn’t known for his guard work, and will need to improve his positional skills and his ability to control opponents. While many strikers can overcome their technical shortcomings with good chins and heavy hands, top level MMA grappling is a different story. Lineker will not get away with ignoring the technical nuances of ground fighting, and for that reason has been working closely with Marcelo Ribeiro at Emporium Jiu Jitsu to further refine his BJJ and submissions skills.