John Lineker's simple plan for Dillashaw: 'If I don't run after him, at some point he'll need to come forward'

John Lineker’s last display may have been victorious – but it was by no means a landslide.

After narrowly beating John Dodson via split decision to increase his bantamweight streak to a 4-0, the Brazilian brawler says he’s learned a thing or two about chasing fast competitors around the octagon.

That’s why, when he faces ex-champ T.J. Dillashaw (13-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) at Friday’s UFC 207, Lineker (29-7 MMA, 10-2 UFC) doesn’t want to stray too far from his area of expertise.

“I won’t make the same mistakes I made with Dodson, of running after him too much,” Lineker told MMAjunkie. “(The strategy is) to get him to fall into my game, in the short distance, beware of the takedowns and try to impose my striking game. I don’t want to run after him like I did with Dodson, (I want to) make him play into my game.”

Conveniently nicknamed “Hands of Stone,” Lineker is unanimously regarded as one of the UFC’s lightest division’s most powerful hitters, having finished high-caliber competition like, most recently, the notoriously tough Michael McDonald.

Although Dillashaw does pack some power of his own – just ask Joe Soto or twice TKO’d former titleholder Renan Barao – he’s most commonly known for his high-paced, footwork-heavy game.

So what if he’s just not that inclined to fall into Lineker’s trap?

“If I don’t run after him, at some point he’ll need to come forward” Lineker said. “That’s what I want to do. To wait for him, try to move more laterally, more backwards, to see if he comes. At some point he’ll have to come forward. He can’t just run. The referee won’t let him.”

UFC 207 takes place Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Dillashaw vs. Lineker airs on the pay-per-view portion of the card, following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Apart from his power, Lineker has also acquired a less glamorous reputation for his repeated failures to make weight. After missing the flyweight’s 125-pound limit four times, he managed to stay within the bantamweight’s 135-pounds three times before missing once again, against Dodson.

Lineker says the most recent situation was nothing but a technical hicup involving the scale and, therefore, didn’t prompt him to make any changes as far as dieting and cutting goes. Still, he vows to not let it happen again.

“We screwed up in regards to the scale,” Lineker told MMAjunkie. “But I can say for a fact that this won’t happen again. You will see. It doesn’t help if I just say it. I have to do it. This last time, it was due to a dumb mistake. Without a doubt, it won’t happen again.”

Lineker says his short stature – which certainly stands out among bantamweight competition – is actually very deceiving, and that, much like at flyweight, he remains one of the heaviest of his division. His walkaround weight, however, will remain a secret.

“I don’t even like telling my weight,” Lineker said. “Because I’m very very heavy.”

What happens after Friday, regardless of the winner, is not set in stone. While the winner of the matchup does seem like a likely No. 1 contender for the bantamweight belt, the night’s co-headlining scrap between champ Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrant could, among other possibilities, even lead to an immediate rematch.

Not to mention some of the division’s other frontrunners, like Jimmie Rivera or Bryan Caraway, who UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby himself pointed out as possibilities in the title picture.

On his end, Ranked No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings, Lineker thinks a triumph over No. 2 Dillashaw should be enough to grant him the opportunity.

But, in any case, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

“I don’t expect anything,” Lineker said. “But it’s what I believe.”

“A victory for me will make that opportunity materialize. I plan to grab the microphone and ask for my shot.”

Whether that shot would be against Cruz or Garbrandt, Lineker can’t predict. But that doesn’t stop him from having a personal preference.

“I’m rooting for Dominick Cruz,” Lineker said. “If I ever fight for the belt I hope it’s against him, for his history as a champion.”

For more on UFC 207, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.