John Lineker released from the UFC

Big waves have been made in the UFC’s bantamweight division.

The long-time veteran of the UFC’s flyweight and bantamweight divisions; Brazilian John Lineker (31-9), has been released from the UFC. Several different sources have reported it, MMA Junkie recently confirmed it, they also reached out to Linekers team, who declined to comment.

On shaky ground with the UFC

While it was a shocking decision for many, he was coming off of a decision loss to Cory Sandhagen, and pulled out of his most recent bout with Rob Font at UFC Greenville just days before the bout, citing a facial laceration. The fighter has also had numerous difficult weight cuts and was forced out from flyweight to bantamweight for repeatedly missing weight.

He made his UFC debut 2012, and amassed a 12-4 record in the promotion, with noteworthy wins over fighters like Ian McCall, Michael McDonald and John Dodson. Despite several impressive winning streaks, he missed weight five times during his UFC career, and would lose the pivotal bouts that could lead him to a UFC title.

It remains to be seen what promotion Lineker ends up in.