“Time will come for everybody” - Bibiano Fernandes eager to go out with a bang in swan song versus Kevin Belingon at ONE 171

Former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Bibiano Fernandes announced that he will officially be marking the end of his storied career at ONE 171: Qatar.

But before hanging up his gloves for good, 'The Flash' wants to leave the sport in a blaze of glory one final time on Feb. 20 at Lusail Sports Arena.

For his MMA swan song, the 44-year-old veteran will fittingly face arguably his biggest rival, Kevin Belingon, in a three-round bantamweight MMA contest.

In an exclusive interview with ONE, Bibiano Fernandes came to terms with his career mortality and said he would retire with no regrets.

The longest-reigning 145-pound MMA kingpin in the promotion's history told ONE Championship:

"Embrace the pressure. We like pressure, right? But the time has come for me. Time will come for everybody, it doesn't matter who you are. Or you can do what Khabib [Nurmagomedov] did and say, ‘I’m out!’ Right? And he’s out."

The Brazilian legend continued:

"But if you love the sport, if you really love the sport, you would want to keep it going. You would want to keep pushing. Tell Father Time ‘F*** you, let’s go!’ That’s the thing, I love the sport. That’s the reason why I kept it going. I had a lot of challenges. But I pushed those all aside."

Bibiano Fernandes says he cannot underestimate Kevin Belingon

Despite winning his head-to-head series with Belingon, 3-1, Bibiano Fernandes knows he cannot let his guard down against his fellow former champion.

For one, 'The Silencer' is seeking vengeance and wants to spoil his retirement fight at ONE 171.

In the same interview, 'The Flash' said he expects the Filipino striker to come out firing as soon as the bell rings.

"Kevin is a tough dude. He’s explosive and very dangerous. He has good power. He’s been in ONE Championship for a long time as well. We’ve both been there for a long time. When Chatri asked me if I wanted to fight Kevin, I said yeah, let’s do it. And that’s it. I’m here now."

ONE 171: Qatar will air live via watch.onefc.com.