ONE Championship: Bibiano Fernandes eagerly waiting to compete in mixed rules match
Bibiano Fernandes has dominated the ONE Championship bantamweight division for the past decade and is looking for a more unique challenge in his professional career. 'The Flash' is very much interested in competing in a mixed rules matchup in the near future.
ONE Championship will feature MMA icon Demetrious Johnson taking on kickboxing star Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a mixed rules matchup. This intriguing bout will feature four rounds of fighting, alternating between the ruleset of Muay Thai and MMA. This super-fight is slated to happen in ONE: X in early 2022.
Having trained with 'Mighty Mouse', Fernandes is hoping that ONE Championship will also ask him to compete in a mixed rules matchup soon after. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Fernandes said:
"A 100 percent! I’m here sitting and waiting for ONE Championship to come to me and tell me ‘hey, Bibiano, tomorrow is your fight.’ What if I were to fight a Muay Thai guy, I would say yes! Let’s do it because the only thing is if we use MMA gloves, good."
Watch the full interview with Bibiano Fernandes on the South China Morning Post's YouTube channel below:
Competing in a potential all-grappling match in ONE Championship
Bibiano Fernandes has been competing in ONE Championship since August 2012. The 41-year-old champion has witnessed the growth of Asia's premier MMA promotion.
Muay Thai, kickboxing and even e-sports have made their way under the ONE Championship umbrella and a rumored all-grappling event is in the works. The reigning ONE Championship bantamweight champion has been competing at the IBJJF World Championships as a black belt and is interested to see if ONE will be putting up a similar event in the future.
Fernandes has only tasted defeat four times in 28 professional matches. He has 12 decisions victories, nine submissions and two knockouts to his name in ONE Championship.