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Bibiano Fernandes is burning with a desire to make his highly anticipated return to the Circle. The 41-year-old is fired up and ready to make a statement in his next bantamweight title defense.
Bibiano Fernandes is without a doubt one of the most dominant titleholders in the history of ONE Championship. He will soon step back inside the cage and look to further extend his legacy.
Bibiano Fernandes will take on the hard-hitting John 'Hands of Stone' Lineker at the highly anticipated ONE X event, which will go down on December 5. 'The Flash' is confident he will leave the arena with his champion status in tact.
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In a recent interview with SCMP's Nic Atkin, Fernandes said:
“I’m very excited to go back there and fight with John Lineker and defend my belt for the 12th time. Fighting John Lineker is good. I really will give a good fight. I’m going to give a good fight for the fans but I’m ready. I’m born ready... I’ll commit to doing my job. I want the performance to be great that night, that’s for sure.”
Bibiano Fernandes and John Lineker have gone back and forth for the entire time Lineker has been in the promotion. The former UFC stalwart joined ONE in 2019. The two have been on a collision course ever since.
Lineker has embarked on a solid three-fight winning streak in the Circle, which includes two finishes over Troy Worthen and former champion Kevin Belingon.
It's safe to say, however, that Bibiano Fernandes is not the least bit impressed with his opponent's recent run.
“F*ck John Lineker. If you want to fight me, you want to get the belt, come, let’s do this but in a good way. That’s the way we do it, like if we fight in the street, no problem,” an irritated Fernandes exclaimed. “He’s good. The only problem is, he’s only talking, maybe he can knock me out but I promise I can knock him out and I can finish him and I can beat him.”
Catch SCMP's interview with Bibiano Fernandes below:
Bibiano Fernandes can't wait to trade leather with John Lineker
The fight is certainly a ways away, but one thing is clear: Bibiano Fernandes is tired of all the talk, and can't wait to express himself with his fists.
“You know what, I can live with him standing up, but on the ground, I don’t think [he can survive]. He will try to survive. He [will] want to try to escape and [he will panic]. He will try to stand up. I’m comfortable fighting standing up, or on the ground,” Fernandes said. “For me, it doesn’t matter. I have jiu-jitsu, I have wrestling, I have Muay Thai, I have boxing, I have my strength conditioning. I’m pretty confident in giving my best performance for the night.”
ONE X is the promotion's 10th anniversary show. It will take place on December 5 and will feature a plethora of amazing matchups. Bouts confirmed so far include a showdown between reigning ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le and No.3-ranked featherweight contender Garry Tonon.
Also, flyweight MMA legend Demetrious Johnson will face Muay Thai phenom Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a one-of-a-kind mixed rules hybrid Muay Thai and MMA contest.
But first, ONE Championship returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium this Friday night, September 24, with ONE: Revolution.
