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For FloCombat via A.G Fight



After failing to hit the 126-pound flyweight limit on multiple occasions, hard-hitting UFC contender John Lineker decided to return to the bantamweight division in September 2015. After winning three fights there, TJ Dillashaw brought the streak to a halt with a decision win in December.



Despite the loss, "Hands of Stone" won't ever go back down to flyweight. Not even for the belt.



"No, I don't think about going back down to flyweight," Lineker told AG. Fight for FloCombat. "I feel really good at bantamweight. Even if the UFC told me that going down would give me an immediate fight for the title, I certainly would not go down in weight because I feel very comfortable at 135 pounds. [I feel] much stronger and much more precise."



Against Dillashaw at UFC 207, Lineker had his jaw broken early in the fight and had to go through a procedure that put titanium plates in his face afterwards. So far, the Brazilian is not yet cleared to fight again, but he ensured he is in a good place mentally and that the jaw injury doesn't shake his psychological strength going forward in his career.



"Since my jaw was broken, I had to put […] two titanium plates and eight screws in my jawbone," Lineker said. "I'm sure it will not shake me and it will not change my game and my confidence to always fight aggressively. Even the doctor said that the right side will now get stronger than the left side and I even played with it and I said that it would be even better to have both sides done soon (laughs). It will not shake me at all. I was never afraid to take a blow. My psychological side is very strong."



While "Hands of Stone" is not afraid to take more shots to the jaw now that it's healed up, having it cracked even more during the Dillashaw fight was not something he was willing to risk when he was under the bright lights with the former champion.



"[Breaking] my jaw against TJ was a matter of detail, my jaw ended up breaking in the first round...," he said. "I felt there was something wrong there and it made me a bit afraid to get another blow in the same region. I was afraid of him getting on my legs or kicking me and I ended up wobbling. The same movement he was doing to kick, he was doing to try to fall on my legs."



Lineker has already returned to training and is expected to be cleared to fight again in July. At 26 years of age, the Brazilian owns a career record of 29 wins and eight losses and is currently ranked fourth in the UFC's bantamweight division.