Preview and prediction: Bibiano Fernandes vs. John Lineker for the ONE bantamweight world title

It’s been a long time coming, but it appears that reigning ONE bantamweight world champion Bibiano Fernandes will finally settle matters with bitter rival John Lineker in the Circle.

The two Brazilian standouts will battle in the co-main event of ONE: Lights Out, which happens tomorrow night, March 11 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Bibiano Fernandes and John Lineker have been on a collision course since 'Hands of Stone' joined ONE Championship in 2019. Lineker stormed the competition, slicing and dicing top contenders like a hot knife through butter.

As much as this fight has been cursed over the past year or so, it’s now finally going down. Here’s what the members of Sportskeeda MMA's ONE Championship team think will happen.

Ben Imperial (Analyst): Bibiano Fernandes by unanimous decision

I think this will be an absolute dogfight. While they have expressed mutual respect for one another, it’s clear that they want to tear each other’s head off.

I think Bibiano Fernandes takes this after five rounds. He will feel Lineker’s hands, which could knock the wind out of him briefly, forcing him to drag the match to the ground.

I do believe that Lineker is more than capable of ending this bout with a body shot, especially being the more active fighter over the past couple of years. However, Bibiano’s heart is much too great to allow him to go down easily.

James De Rozario (Analyst): Bibiano Fernandes by second-round KO

Bibiano Fernandes is the promotion’s most successful world champion for a reason. All aspects of his game have undergone severe litmus tests on the global stage. He’s been victorious on most of those occasions, bar one split-decision loss to Kevin Belingon.

Striking may not be his forte, but the Brazilian world champion has shown that he can trouble rivals with his stand-up knowledge. His flying knees, chopping leg kicks, and his looping overhand rights have troubled the likes of Belingon, Martin Nguyen, and Reece McLaren – but he uses them only when he needs to.

John Lineker would not be afraid of this, though. No man has found an answer to his high-octane fists. The top-ranked contender knows all he needs to do is to land one punch to return home with the gold.

However, Fernandes is good at changing levels and mixing things up. He might want to allow his Brazilian counterpart to unload a barrage of strikes, and perhaps when Lineker drops his guard, he will counter with a solid right that could potentially see him with a successful world title defense once again.

Atilano Diaz (Analyst): John Lineker by second-round KO

I’m going to go against the grain here and pick John Lineker to end the Fernandes era at bantamweight.

We talk about Fernandes’ experience a lot, but at the same time overlook the fact that Lineker has 43 professional bouts under his belt. His performance against Muin Gafurov, in which he overcame a broken hand to win, speaks volumes of his toughness. Against one of the most dangerous strikers in the division in Kevin Belingon, Lineker made it look easy.

‘Hands of Stone’ is going to throw hands from start to finish. Fernandes has a tendency to trade shots in the heat of the moment, which will eventually be his downfall.

I could be wrong, but I’m going out on a limb here and picking John Lineker for the headline-stealing knockout victory.