A positive COVID-19 test has forced John Lineker out of Bad Blood on Friday — and as a result, the ONE Championship bantamweight title fight between the Brazilian challenger and champ Bibiano Fernandes has been postponed.
MMA Fighting was first to report the news, which was confirmed Thursday by ONE Championship officials. In place of Fernandes vs. Lineker, the interim heavyweight title fight between Anatoly Malykhin and Kirill Grishenko has been promoted to the card’s main event slot.
Bad Blood takes place Friday, February 11, 2022 in Singapore.
Lineker addressed the situation on Instagram, stating that the plan was to reschedule the bout. It’s the second time the bantamweight pair have seen their fight pushed back: the original plan was for the fight to be part of ONE X in December. However, rising COVID-19 cases saw the entire event rescheduled; it now takes place in March.
Lineker (34-9) has won all three of his fights since joining ONE Championship in 2019. He has long been on a collision course with Fernandes (24-4), one of the lost-serving members of the ONE Championship roster. A former DREAM bantamweight and featherweight champ, Fernandes joined ONE in 2012, and is on his second stint as champ in the promotion.
The updated Bad Blood card now breaks down as follows:
Main Card
Anatoly Malykhin vs. Kirill Grishenko – for the ONE Championship Interim Heavyweight World Title
Jonathan Haggerty vs. Mongkolpetch Petchyindee Academy – Muay Thai
Chen Rui vs. Mark Abelardo
Mei Yamaguchi vs. Jihin Radzuan
Yodkaikaew Fairtex vs. Woo Sung Hoon
Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke vs. Danial Williams
Lead Card
Dustin Joynson vs. Hugo Cunha
Lin Heqin vs. Bi Nguyen
Thomas Narmo vs. Odie Delaney
Sunoto vs. Tial Thang
