John Lineker's camp disappointed with miss but says next move yet to be decided

Having missed the flyweight limit three times in five UFC appearances, John Lineker wouldn’t seem to be a company favorite right now. But the 23-year-old Brazilian isn’t focusing on anything other than Phil Harris for the time being.

“It’s too soon to say right now,” Lineker’s manager, Alex Davis, told MMAjunkie.com. “He still has to win this fight, and that’s what we will focus on for now.”

Lineker (22-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Harris (22-10 MMA, 1-1 UFC) meet on the FOX Sports 2-televised main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 30 event in Manchester, England. At today’s official weigh-in ceremony, Lineker weighed 128 pounds and was ultimately unable to make the needed mark despite being given an additional 60 minutes to shed the weight.

Lineker also missed weight for his UFC 163 fight with Jose Maria, registering 129 pounds, as well as a May 2012 bout with Louis Gaudinot in which he weighed 127 pounds. The repeated offenses have marred an otherwise impressive UFC run that has earned Lineker the No. 7 spot in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA flyweight rankings and led many to believe he was on the verge of a potential title shot.

Davis said Lineker was on pace to make weight before his body simply stopped sweating in the hours leading up to his time to step on the scales. Even worse, he started again after the ceremony ended.

“We got in two days early, and we were on track,” Davis said. “It seemed everything would be fine, but then he locked up, and the weight simply would not come off anymore. And even stranger, the minute he got off the scales and was in the backstage area, he started sweating again, even though he had not sweated at all since last night.”

While UFC officials have yet to offer comment on Lineker’s repeated infractions, it’s a safe bet he won’t be considered for a title anytime soon. He was fined 25 percent of his purse for missing weight, but the UFC in the past has released fighters who repeatedly failed to make weight. A move to bantamweight could potentially earn Lineker a reprieve, but Davis said he’s not ready to make any such decision right now.

“He got fined and probably spoiled his chance at a title shot for right now,” Davis said. “We’ll decide what we’ll do next after Saturday night.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 30, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: John Lineker)