Stephen Loman has the biggest fight of his life coming up on April 28th. The Filipino will face John Lineker at ONE on TNT Part IV.
Loman’s status as the reigning Brave bantamweight champion made him an attractive signing for ONE Championship. Matchmakers have thrown him straight in the deep end with a bout against the #1 ranked UFC veteran and even Loman sounds surprised,
“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,” he said.
Power puncher
Lineker stopped his teammate Kevin Belingon inside a round at ONE: ‘Inside the Matrix’ Part III and Loman will be wary of his opponent’s power,
“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. It’s not an easy fight, by any means. Lineker has a lot of power.”
The winner will almost certainly be handed a shot at Bibiano Fernandes. Team Lakay fighters are not renowned for trash talking and Loman sounds extremely humble as he prepares to male his ONE Championship debut,
“Right now, I’m not trying to go out there and say I’m the best in the division. I’m the new guy, a champion coming from a different organization, so I have a lot to prove. I don’t know where I rank currently, but we’ll see soon enough,” he said.
New home
He would not have been short of offers when his Brave deal expired after winning eight fights in a row. But when ONE Championship showed an interest Loman knew this was where his future would lie,
“Obviously, the decision to join ONE Championship was one I thought about for a long time. It’s the largest martial arts organization in the world. I’m a fighter, and I’m seeking the toughest challenges. I want to test myself against the best. ONE Championship has the best fighters,” he said.
Global stage
All of Team Lakay’s top fighters are on the ONE Championship roster and Loman says this was one of the reasons he decided to put pen to paper on a long term contract with the promotion,
“All my teammates told me great things about ONE Championship. They say competing in this organization is good. The promotion takes very good care of its fighters, and is very generous, especially for good performances.”
He hopes signing with ONE Championship will get him more mainstream exposure. The 29 year old wants to make a name for himself and beating Lineker would be the perfect way to do it.
“I love how ONE promotes its fighters, really giving them time and attention on the biggest global stage. I am excited to debut.”
