ONE Bantamweight Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes is set to defend his title on Friday in the main event of ONE: HEART OF A LION in Singapore. He’ll be facing interim champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belignon in a much-anticipated rematch after Fernandes scored a first-round submission win over him in their first meeting.
If Fernandes is successful in his upcoming title defense, it will be his eighth since capturing the belt. Fernandes’ career in combat sports has been a journey packed with quick study, ascension, overcoming obstacles and unprecedented achievement. As it stands, he may be the greatest Brazilian martial artist of all-time.
That concept isn’t meant to be disrespectful to the likes of Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida, Amanda Nunes, Royce Gracie, Patricio Friere, Jose Aldo, Cris Cyborg or the many other outstanding competitors the country has produced. However, Fernandes has already accomplished things across multiple disciplines that warrant special attention.
His current reign as ONE Bantamweight champion began in 2013. He first captured the interim title with a unanimous-decision win over Koetsu Okazaki at ONE: RISE TO POWER. That win took place in May, and it wouldn’t take long for Fernandes to remove the interim from his title. Just five months later at ONE: TOTAL DOMINATION, the then 33-year-old Fernandes took a unanimous decision over Soo Chul Kim to become the undisputed champion. At the time, no one could have imagined Fernandes would hold the title for as long as he has, but that was the beginning of what is now the longest title reign in ONE Championship history.
There are only two competitors in MMA history to lodge more consecutive title defenses within a major organization: Demetrious Johnson, who recently signed with ONE, he had 11, and Silva who had 10. Silva is the only Brazilian to best Fernandes in that area. Aside from winning and defending the title, Fernandes is on a 14-fight win streak in total that dates back to 2010. In total, he has been one of the most dominant competitors in the history of the division in MMA.
That’s the thing about Fernandes, his resume goes beyond MMA. Before he climbed inside a cage for the first time professionally, he’d already established himself as one of the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. From 1997 to 2007, Fernandes won a total of 14 medals in the most prestigious BJJ tournaments and competitions. He’s a four-time Brazilian National champion, a four-time World champion (one-time Bronze and Silver) and a three-time Pan-American champion (one-time Bronze).
No other martial artist of any ethnicity has a BJJ and MMA background that compares. You’d have to look at someone like Daniel Cormier to find an equal when it comes to overall accomplishments in combat sports. Perhaps more important than the achievements in the arts is the journey. Fernandes overcame poverty that is almost unimaginable, to get to where he is today.
As a boy, his mother passed away when he was 7 years old. He and his family had to live in the Amazon jungle because they didn’t have the financial means to survive elsewhere. He contracted malaria, and nearly died.
When he did move to the city, he was homeless. He was introduced to BJJ, which wound up being his escape path, but because he was still without financial resources, he was forced to sleep in the gym where he trained, cleaned and did other duties to make any wages. Despite these modest beginnings, Fernandes trained and ultimately tapped into his talent as a combat sports athlete.
In addition to his accomplishments as a competitor, Fernandes has now become one of the most-respected BJJ trainers in the world. In fact, he trains Johnson and has vowed to never compete with his pupil and friend. Instead, he has his eyes set on matching or breaking Johnson’s record for consecutive defenses.
While he has ascended and established enough wealth to take care of himself, his wife and children, Fernandes remains as a humble and respectful competitor who acknowledges the values of martial arts. When you mix his intangibles with his tangible accomplishments, the argument that he is the greatest to arise from his country is a sound one.
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