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Bibiano Fernandes has been dominating his weight class for almost a decade now. His assault on ONE Championship's bantamweight division has been spotless except for the times he's faced Kevin Belingon.
The Filipino wushu specialist was the only one who solved and nullified the Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard's MMA puzzle. The two had a rivalry for the ages as they faced each other an unprecedented four times. In a video recently released by ONE Championship, we see this epic rivalry up close.
The pair split the first two fights with the third clash ending in utter controversy. In the rubber match, Fernandes was handed a disqualification win as his foe accidentally hit him with illegal elbows. Though the foul was undeniably accidental, the ending stirred some tension and bad blood between the two.
In their fourth bout, Fernandes put a violent end to this rivalry. 'The Flash' adjusted his game and seamlessly fused his striking with his grappling. The Brazilian legend then choked his opponent out in the second round, closing the greatest rivalry in ONE history.
Watch the rivalry recap video here:
Another epic rivalry is brewing in ONE Championship
On February 11 at ONE Championship: Bad Blood, another rivalry is set to make headlines. Unlike the Belingon fights, which were fought with intense professional competitiveness, Bibiano Fernandes' fight with John 'Hands of Stone' Lineker is personal. This time, everything is deeply rooted in animosity.
Fernandes has always been a cool-headed type of champion. It wasn't until he met Lineker that the bantamweight king showed his teeth. The level of hatred has the makings of a true once-in-a-lifetime rivalry that can produce great moments in and out of the ring.
The two have been shooting verbal barbs at each other, with both sides not backing down. In an interview with South China Morning Post, Bibiano said this about his opponent:
"F*** John Lineker. If you want to fight me, you want to get the belt, come, let’s do this but in a good way. That’s the way we do it, like if we fight in the street, no problem."
The MMA world is now eagerly waiting for these two to finally lock horns and settle the score inside the cage. The bad blood is real between them and we might just see the first true grudge match in ONE Championship history.
