Stephen Loman "not underestimating" Bibiano Fernandes despite the Brazilian being "old already"

ONE bantamweight marvel Stephen Loman has a tough task ahead of him as he faces former ONE bantamweight world champion Bibiano 'The Flash' Fernandes on November 18 at ONE on Prime Video 4.

'The Sniper' will need every tool in his arsenal to dispatch perhaps the most successful and decorated ONE world champion ever.

Fernandes holds the record for most world title defenses in ONE Championship with eight. He was unstoppable for almost 10 years, but was recently put to sleep by John Lineker to end his reign earlier this year.

Now, with a lot of milieage in his engine and pushing past 40 years old, Fernandes' critics are saying he might be over-the-hill.

Loman, however, sees it differently. With advice from his teammate and former rival of Fernandes, Kevin Belingon, Loman is coming into the fight confident but still careful.

In an interview with ONE Championship, 'The Sniper' spoke about Fernandes' skills and why he's not underestimating them:

"When he [Kevin Belingon] learned about my upcoming fight, he told me that I can beat Bibiano because he’s old already. Kidding aside, I think it will be a factor because he’s already 42 years old. I believe his explosiveness will still be there - we saw it in his fight against [John] Lineker as he was able to knock him down. I’m not underestimating his strength and striking, especially in the first round."

What Stephen Loman is saying is correct. Fernandes did show a lot of explosiveness and power in his fight with Lineker. 'The Flash' even became one of the few people to ever knock Lineker down in a fight. That's a rare accomplishment even for men half his age.

---

Stephen Loman understands Bibiano Fernandes' strength on the ground

In the same interview, Stephen Loman elaborated on which aspects of the fight he thinks Bibiano Fernandes has the best chance of winning.

Unsurprisingly, since Fernandes is a former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, his major strength lies in the grappling department.

Stephen Loman said:

"In the second round, I think he lies low and doesn’t show much of his strength. But overall, I fully expect him to still have his strength, especially on the ground. Even Kevin agrees that he will still be a formidable challenge if our fight goes to the ground."

The best warriors, no matter how confident and skilled they are in battle, never underestimate the opposition in front of them.

There's a certain level of humility and sense of reality that must be practiced in order to keep getting the job done. In a practical sense, refusing to underestimate your opponent makes you more prepared for the unpredictable and ultimately takes the element of surprise away.