“Stephen Loman is tested” - Mark Sangiao says Bibiano Fernandes will face big challenge vs. Stephen Loman

Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao believes former world champion Bibiano Fernandes will face his biggest challenge yet in Stephen Loman on November 18.

Thus far, Loman has had a successful run at ONE Championship. Following two back-to-back victories, one by decision, and the other by technical knockout, ‘The Sniper’ will finally take a stab at the No.1-ranked contender, Bibiano ‘The Flash’ Fernandes at ONE on Prime Video 4.

Despite his age, Fernandes is still a dangerous opponent. He hurt former title holder John Lineker in defense of his belt at ONE: X this year, almost ending the fight early with a big left hook. Although he surrendered his crown to Lineker by knockout, he’s still one of the most imposing martial artists in the world.

Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao is well aware of the danger Bibiano possesses. But he’s also confident that Loman has enough tools in his arsenal to mitigate that threat.

He told The MMA Super-Fan:

“When Bibiano takes you down, he has a good control. He’s very good in jiu-jitsu but Stephen Loman is tested. He’s the longest champion on the team. He holds the belt in another organization. This is also a big challenge for Bibiano.”

Watch the behind-the-scenes vlog below:

Even though the Filipino native is relatively new to ONE Championship, he’s a seasoned MMA fighter. He fought under one of the largest martial arts organizations in the Middle East at Brave Combat Federation and became the promotion’s inaugural Brave CF bantamweight world champion in November 2017.

A couple of reasons why Bibiano and Loman make such a good matchup is that they’re both highly experienced fighters and they offer a plethora of skills to test each other inside the cage to make this a barnburner.

It will be intriguing to see how good Loman’s takedown defense is and in turn, how well Bibiano responds to Loman’s striking pedigree. Fans will just have to find out on Friday, November 18.

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Re-watch Stephen Loman’s shocking ONE debut against Yusup Saadulaev

Stephen Loman made the right decision in signing up with ONE Championship.

In December 2021, the 27-year-old stalwart was initially scheduled to make his promotional debut against John Lineker at ONE on TNT 4, but withdrew due to testing positive for COVID-19.

Lineker should count himself lucky for not feeling the wrath of the Filipino hard-hitter early on in his career at ONE Championship, because what he did to Yusup Saadulaev at ONE: Winter Warriors II was beyond shocking.

Re-watch Stephen Loman’s spectacular round-one knockout below: