John Lineker (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

John Lineker is booked to fight Marlon Vera this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 119, but the heavy handed bantamweight says several fighters turned down the opportunity first.

Lineker, who will be competing for the first time since his loss to TJ Dillashaw last December, recently told Combate the following (translation via Bloody Elbow):

“My manager named several athletes I could fight,” Lineker said. “Some of them turned me down, some didn’t. Many ran away, actually, so I didn’t have much of a choice. I’m thankful Marlon and his team took the fight. All I can do is thank him for taking a fight that others wouldn’t. I won’t name any names, but there was half a dozen of them who declined fighting me in Brazil.

“I needed a fight as soon as possible. I was cleared in June, so I was inactive for a long time, that’s really bad for an athlete. I need to fight, no matter who it was against. Thank God Marlon accepted it.”

Prior to Lineker’s decision loss to Dillashaw, the Brazilian fighter had won six in a row.

UFC Fight Night 119 will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil.