Bibiano Fernandes

Bibiano Fernandes won the black belt Worlds at light-featherweight three times before becoming one of the greatest champions in the history of MMA in Asia. For Gracie Barra, he won in 2003, a year after taking the title as a brown belt, lost the 2004 final to Fernando Vieira 4-2 and returned to the top in 2005 and 2006. On the way to the 2006 title he submitted David Hader with an armbar and took the back of runner-up Bernardo Pitel for a choke.

Born on March 30, 1980, in Manaus, he trained under Faustino Neto and Osvaldo Alves and was also a world champion as a purple belt, in 2001. He won the Pans in 2004, 2005 and 2006. He later moved to Canada.

In MMA he was DREAM’s first featherweight champion, in 2009, and the Japanese promotion’s first bantamweight champion, in 2011. In ONE Championship he won the bantamweight title in 2013 and defended it seven times before losing it to Kevin Belingon in 2018. He took it back from the same opponent the following year and held it until 2022, when he lost to John Lineker. He retired in February 2025 with a win over Belingon at ONE 171 in Qatar and a 25-6 record. The following month he was inducted into the ONE Hall of Fame.

In October 2023 he opened Flash Academy in Langley, British Columbia, where he teaches. In 2024 he won the IBJJF Pans in the Master 3 division.