ONE Championship: Liam Harrison predicts ‘some ridiculous CTE going on’ in John Lineker fight
- ‘The Hitman’ expects to school former MMA champion in their bantamweight Muay Thai fight at Lumpinee Stadium in January
- But Harrison admits ‘one slip’ in 4-ounce gloves could spell disaster – ‘he’s got the death touch … he can turn your lights out’
“The Hitman” Liam Harrison expects to school John Lineker in their bantamweight Muay Thai fight in January.
But the former ONE Championship title challenger knows “one slip” against “Hands of Stone” could spell doom in Bangkok.
Harrison has been out of action since August 2022 after suffering a knee injury in the first round of his fight against former ONE Muay Thai champion Nong-O Hama.
But the 38-year-old Briton will finally return on January 13 at Lumpinee Stadium in an unconventional match-up.
“I’m thinking it’s just going to be ridiculous, especially the way me and him punch. There’s gonna be some ridiculous CTE going on,” Harrison told the Post.
“He’s just got a little massive coconut head. I’ll end up smashing my hands to pieces on his head.”
ONE Championship first offered the fight to Harrison as a mixed rules striking contest – essentially boxing in 4-ounce MMA gloves.
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“While I was out injured with my knee anyway I didn’t care about smashing my hands to bits, I thought my knee can’t get worse, I can punch, let’s do it,” he added.
“But I turned it down [after the injury had healed]. They ended up offering it about 84 million times though and I just said, ‘Look, I’ll meet him in the middle if he wants to fight kickboxing or let’s fight Muay Thai.’.
“All his wins come stood up on his feet. He’s a horrific power puncher. He looks like he trains a lot of Muay Thai from what I see. In 8-ounce gloves I don’t think many people would be interested in seeing this because I think I’d take him to school.
“But with 4-ounce gloves on, when you put a fighter like Lineker in the ring under any ruleset he’s going to be dangerous, there’s always that risk factor.
“All he has to do is touch you once. He’s got the death touch. It only takes one slip in these gloves and he can turn your lights out, which will make it exciting.
“I’ve got to be on my a game from start to finish, but I’ve had more knockouts than he’s had fights so I’m sure I hit just as hard as him. Whoever makes a mistake first is getting flattened.”
A UK legend and pioneer in the sport, Harrison has launched his own UK-based Muay Thai promotion – Hitman Fight League – which will supply regional talent to ONE’s weekly Friday Fights shows at Lumpinee.
But he admitted he struggled to come to terms with his long injury absence, which came right at the tail end of his storied career.
“It’s been awful, mentally and physically,” he said. “My head’s just been gone with it all, to be honest. But we’re here now, we’re out the other end, so there’s stuff to look forward to.
“That was heartbreaking to be fair, but it is what it is. No point crying over spilled milk. It’s done now.
“I just want to fight and they weren’t offering me owt other than Lineker so I just had to say yes, basically.
“He’s a very big name in the MMA world. He was top five in the UFC, a ONE champion. It should get a lot of crossover fans involved.”
“I hope he misses weight again when I fight him so I can take some of his purse. I know he gets paid loads of money, so I’ll be like ‘yeah, cough it up’,” Harrison added.
