Jeremy Pacatiw believes Stephen Loman can hang with Bibiano Fernandes’ grappling 

ONE bantamweight fighter Jeremy Pacatiw believes that his Team Lakay teammate Stephen Loman will be able to keep up with the legendary Bibiano Fernandes wherever their fight goes.

‘The Sniper’ is up for the biggest test of his career so far. He'll take on the former ONE bantamweight world champion on the main card of ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee.

The highly anticipated match, which many expect to be a world title eliminator for the vacant 145-pound belt, will take place inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium on November 19.

Backed by his superior grappling skills, ‘The Flash’ ruled over the promotion’s bantamweight ranks for quite a long time. However, as far as Pacatiw is concerned, Stephen Loman has all the tools to hold his ground against the Brazilian, even if the fight takes place right in his wheelhouse.

‘The Juggernaut’ said in an interview with The MMA Super-Fan:

“I believe that Stephen can grapple with Bibiano if they go to the mat or to the ground, but he must be careful because we watched Bibiano’s fight. He's also a good grappler.”

Watch the full interview below:

To be completely fair, Fernandes is more than just a “good grappler.” The 42-year-old is a fifth-degree BJJ black belt under Oswaldo Alves. Nine of his 24 career wins have also come by submission, with four of those coming inside the circle.

Team Lakay is quite familiar with Fernandes’ suffocating ground game since he subbed Loman’s teammate Kevin Belingon twice during their heated rivalry. Moreover, the AMC Pankration representative also holds submission victories over Dae Hwan Kim and Andrew Leone.

Stephen Loman, on the other hand, prefers to keep his fights standing and finishes his opponents with vicious knockouts. He introduced himself to the ONE audience big time by knocking out Yusup Saadulaev in his circle debut last year.

The Filipino KO artist, though, also has two submission wins in his career and has proven to be no slouch on the ground either.

---

Youth will be on Stephen Loman’s side against Bibiano Fernades, says Jeremy Pacatiw

Aside from the fact that Stephen Loman has been shoring up his grappling over the last couple of years, Jeremy Pacatiw thinks ‘The Sniper’ has another sizable advantage over Bibiano Fernandes.

While he respects what Fernandes has accomplished in the sport, ‘The Juggernaut’ believes his best days are already behind him.

Pacatiw added that his younger and hungrier stablemate will be too much for the grizzled veteran.

He said in the same interview:

“I think the biggest advantage of Stephen is he has the head movement, he has a good set-up, and he’s young.”

We'll soon find out whether or not Pacatiw's assessment is correct.