John Lineker to UFC: Let me fight or ‘let me go’

John Lineker is easily one of the most consistently exciting fighters in mixed martial arts. Yet for some reason, he seems to have a hard time staying active. That’s no fault of his, the UFC matchmakers just don’t schedule him for action as often as he’d like them too.

He seems to be getting fed up.

Speaking on his official Twitter account, the stone-fisted Brazilian bantamweight pointed out that he’s fought just four times since 2016. He’s not pleased about that, and demanded that the UFC either find him fights more often or let him take his services elsewhere.

My last opponent fought 4 times in a year. He already has another fight! Sean likes him! I have fought only 4 times since 2016! I need to fight! If you dont like me or my style just let me go!!! @MMAjunkie @seanshelby @danawhite @Alexdavismma @ufc @MMAFighting @sherdogdotcom

— John Lineker (@johnlineker) May 29, 2019

“My last opponent [Corey Sandhagen] fought 4 times in a year,” A fired up John Lineker wrote. “He already has another fight! [UFC matchmaker] Sean [Shelby] likes him! I have fought only 4 times since 2016! I need to fight! If you don’t like me or my style just let me go!”

If we’re being completely accurate, John Lineker has actually only fought three times since 2016 ended, as his fourth most recent fight occurred in late December of that year.

He fought once in 2017, defeating Marlon Vera by decision, once in 2018, knocking out Brian Kelleher, and once so far in 2019, losing a close decision to Sandhagen.

While it’s easy to blame the UFC for this issue, it’s worth noting that John Lineker is not the kind of opponent many fighters would seek out. The Brazilian is probably one of the hardest pound-for-pound hitters in the sport, and he backs up his ferocious power with often impenetrable takedown defense. To put it simply, he’s not an easy fight for anybody.

Do you think the UFC should put in a little more effort to keep the always entertaining bantamweight John Lineker more active? Join the conversation in the comments section below.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/29/2019.