Hot on the heels of his release from UFC contract, top-ranked bantamweight John Lineker has inked a new deal with ONE Championship.

Lineker (31-9) tweeted the news of his move, tweeting: “I will answer all the questions out there about myself in the Ring! People will be changing the channel to watch me fight! I will continue to do what I love! Fight and put on a show!”

The heavy-handed Brazilian became a free agent last week after dropping out of a co-headliner at UFC on ESPN+ 12 due to a cut. He was scheduled to rematch Rob Font.

The booking came about after Lineker waged a PR campaign to get more work after a stretch in the UFC where he fought just four times in the past 30 months. In an interview with MMA Junkie, he requested the promotion release him from contract if they couldn’t keep him busy.

The promotion obliged, but a cut in training forced Lineker to bow out from a fight for the fourth time in a career marked with repeated misses at the scale.

UFC president Dana White said Lineker was released despite his ranking because matchmakers couldn’t deal with the fighter any more.

“It was because he hasn’t made weight a few times and I just know the matchmakers were super frustrated with him,” White told TSN. “The guy wasn’t being professional.

“When you don’t make it to the octagon either a bunch of times, it’s a waste of everybody’s time, energy and money. We expect guys to be professional, do what they’re supposed to do, show up. The matchmakers were done. They had it.”

Lineker, the No. 15 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA bantamweight rankings, now moves overseas to a division currently topped by two-time champion Bibiano Fernandes. He most recently fought in the octagon at UFC on ESPN+ 8, suffering a split decision loss that snapped a two-fight winning streak.

For more on ONE Championship, check out the MMA schedule.