ONE FC MMA: Bibiano Fernandes set to rock Manila
There is one feature of Bibiano Fernandes that truly marks him as a warrior.
More than his compact but muscular frame. More than his penetrating eyes that transform into a steely gaze at the sight of his opponents.
What gives Bibiano Fernandes away as a pugilist are those ears.
They're mangled and misshapen, almost gargoylesque. They act as bookends to his boyish, kind face.
“That's what's called cauliflower ear” says my friend and MMA junkie Franco Mabanta. “A lot of the fighters get it.”
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His ears are a result of years of having his head rubbing constantly on the canvas. From weaseling out of holds, receiving vicious takedowns, and getting entrapped into leglocks. No doubt he wears those cauliflower ears with pride.
The 33-year old Brazilian has indeed taken his licks. But more often than not, its his opponents who end up on the losing end.
When the Bantamweight meets Koetsu Okazaki on May 31 in the Mall of Asia Arena in ONE FC Rise To Power he'll tow a 13-3 win-loss record, plus a five-fight win streak. He has won eleven of his last twelve bouts.
Like many Brazilian fighters, Fernandes is almost unstoppable once the fight goes to ground thanks to his vast BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu) background. He boasts of no less than seven gold medals in top Jiu-Jitsu competitions.
When he crossed over to MMA in 2004, his success continued unabated. Fernandes has a couple of DREAM championship titles at Featherweight and grabbed two more when he moved up to Bantamweight (135 lbs).
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Last time he was in town he obliterated Brazilian-born Aussie Gustavo Falciroli via unanimous decision last August in ONE FC Pride of a Nation.
In the open workout before his fight he confessed to liking the Philippines because it reminded him so much of home, which for him is Manaus, Brazil.
Fernandes grew up poor on the northern Brazilian city's' hardscrabble streets, an orphan at an early age. It was a Dickensian milieu that often saw him begging for food and scavenging for leftovers. He also spent some time living off the land in the Amazon jungle.
As a teen the homeless Fernandes would wash cars and clean houses for food. But an outlet from his dire existence materialized when he discovered a local jiu-jitsu gym. Allowed to train for free just by cleaning the gym, the man who would eventually be called “The Flash” wowed his coaches with his natural gift for the sport. In no time he was competing and winning all over Brazil and beyond.
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Fernandes is now rated by MMA Weekly as the fifth-ranked Bantamweight in the world. His stock will no doubt rise if he beats Okazaki in a battle for the ONE FC Interim Bantamweight title.
Current ONE FC Bantamweight champ Soo Chul Kim of Korea is out with a shoulder injury, hence the need for the interim belt. The winner of the interim title could duke it out with a Filipino, Kevin Belingon of Kiangan, Ifugao.
Belingon will joust with Masakatsu Ueda of Japan in the final of the ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix also on May 31. The eight-man tournament was meant to produce a challenger for Kim.
Team Lakay's Belingon reached the final of the tournament by first TKO-ing Yusup Saadulaev then inflicting the same fate on Vietnamese-Australian Thanh Vu last February in Singapore.
Either Ueda or Belingon will likely meet Fernandes first while Kim heals.
But Belingon isn't the only Pinoy who will strut his stuff in front of a packed MOA Arena that night.
Honorio “The Rock” Banario, another Team Lakay standout from Baguio, will stake his ONE FC Featherweight belt against Japanese challenger Koji Oishi in the main event of the fight card.
A third Filipino will also do battle with a Japanese fighter. Rey Docyogen, also from Team Lakay, will collide with Yasuhiro Urushitani in a Flyweight encounter. Another Pinoy Flyweight, Geje Eustaquio, returns to ONE FC to match up with American Muay Thai specialist Andrew Leone.
Fans of Team Lakay's Eduard Folayang will be pleased that he is also on the card, scheduled to tangle with Iranian Kamal Shalorus in a Lightweight bout.
It promises to be a glorious night of Mixed-Martial Arts action for the Filipino fans. But the cognoscenti will be looking forward to the final undercard between Fernandes and Okazaki, which should be a masterclass of grappling technique.
Fernandes could be sporting yet another sign of his greatness, this time not on his facial features, but dangling from his waist.
Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333. Follow ONE FC @ONEFCMMA.
