John Lineker vs. Brian Kelleher added to UFC 224 in Brazil

Ask and you shall receive.

Brian Kelleher called out John Lineker following his recent victory over Renan Barao at UFC on FOX 28, and the company has decided to book the bantamweight contest for UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 12. Multiple sources confirmed the news to MMA Fighting following a report by Combate.

Lineker (30-8) returns to action after pulling out of a UFC 219 clash with Jimmie Rivera with a tooth infection. “Hands of Stone” fought for the last time in October, defeating Marlon Vera via unanimous decision. The Brazilian veteran is 5-1 since moving up to 135 pounds.

Kelleher (19-8) is riding a two-fight winning streak in the Octagon, knocking out Damian Stasiak in a “Fight of the Night” clash at UFC Gdansk and scoring a decision win over Barao. “Boom” is 3-1 under the UFC banner, with his first Octagon victory coming with a shocking first-round submission over Iuri Alcantara at Rio de Janeiro’s UFC 212 last June.

UFC 214 will be headlined by Amanda Nunes versus Raquel Pennington for the bantamweight championship.