John Lineker’s seven-year run with ONE Championship is over. The former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion exited the promotion, with the Brazilian having to serve a one-year doping suspension following a positive drug test after his March 2026 loss to Ben Woolliss at ONE Fight Night 41.
Lineker tested positive for tamoxifen and metandienone, according to a company source with knowledge of the situation. Tamoxifen is listed as an anti-oestrogenic substance, while metandienone, also known as Dianabol, is an anabolic androgenic steroid.
The 35-year-old Brazilian entered the Woolliss fight on a three-fight losing streak. He joined ONE Championship in 2019 and captured the bantamweight MMA title with a second-round knockout of Bibiano Fernandes in March 2022, before losing the belt after a weight miss and subsequent no-contest ruling against Fabricio Andrade. Andrade stopped him in their February 2023 rematch to claim the vacant gold.
Lineker’s release is the most prominent among six fighters who have departed the roster. The others are Danny Kingad, Kang Ji Won, Eddie Abasolo, Ali Saldoev, and Taylor McClatchie, all cut amid losing streaks in their respective divisions.
Five more fighters depart as ONE Championship makes roster changes
Danny Kingad, the 30-year-old Filipino flyweight MMA contender who challenged Adriano Moraes for the ONE Flyweight MMA World Title in 2017 and compiled an 11-6 promotional record, exited the promotion after three consecutive losses.
South Korean heavyweight Kang Ji Won, 30, exits with a 4-4 ONE record after losing two straight. American featherweight Muay Thai striker Eddie Abasolo, 39, departs after three consecutive defeats across a 1-4 promotional run.
Russian bantamweight Muay Thai fighter Ali Saldoev, who went 1-2 in ONE Championship, departed after back-to-back losses, including a unanimous decision defeat to Jordan Estupinan at ONE Fight Night 31 in May 2025.
Canadian striker Taylor McClatchie, 34, exits after losing two of three ONE bouts. The 2023 Road to ONE: Canada tournament winner’s most recent appearance came at ONE Friday Fights 153 last week, where she dropped a split decision to Zoe Neuschwander at Lumpinee Stadium.