UFC Fight Night 45's John Lineker: I've identified source of fight-week weight issues

After earning three straight knockout wins, John Lineker‘s striking prowess is well established. But after being outwrestled earlier this year, “Hands of Stone” learned a valuable lesson about what it’s going to take to succeed at the highest level of the sport.

“I wasn’t ready for Ali Bagautinov’s wrestling game,” Lineker told MMAjunkie. “I know I’ve improved much in this area, and I’ll continue putting in the work.

“I recently switched teams from Emporium to OCS Jiu-Jitsu so I could further improve my ground techniques. I am doing this so I can be a more complete athlete.”

Lineker (23-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who’s ranked No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings, will get to test those grappling skills on Wednesday when he meets Alptekin Ozkilic (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) on the FOX Sports 1-televised main card of “UFC Fight Night 45: Cerrone vs. Miller” at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J.

“I think he’s a good fighter,” Lineker said of his foe. “He likes to strike and has good takedowns. He’s a good finisher, too, despite having so many decision victories. But I’m very ready for a war.

“Of course, I’ll always use my boxing in all my fights. So the goal now is to improve my ground game and my wrestling but never neglecting my boxing.”

Still just 24, Lineker appears to have a bright future in the UFC’s flyweight division. And while his wrestling certainly had room for improvement, fans’ biggest complaint was his inability to consistently make weight. He’s been over the 126-pound flyweight limit in three of his six UFC appearances.

Lineker insists he’s addressed those concerns and will no longer have an issue at the scales.

“We figured out that I was retaining too much water toward the end due to salt in my diet,” Lineker said. “So we’re making a change in that regard. I’ll be on target, you can be sure.”

Despite the improvements made, it wasn’t necessarily a perfect training camp for Lineker. With his wife pregnant and at home with their fourth child, Lineker elected to stay close rather than to travel to Florida’s American Top Team to finish his training camp. Still, the Brazilian believes he’s prepared to put on a show.

And unlike in previous performances, if his hands aren’t scoring from the start, Lineker believes with the improvements he’s made since that February loss to Bagautinov, he’s finally got a few options to explore.

“Of course, sometimes strategies don’t work, but we already have a plan B,” Lineker said.

For more on UFC Fight Night 45, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.