Emmanuela Oliveira 
An athlete who achieved the title of three-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion as a black-belt is certainly someone who has earned relevance in the sport. This is the reality of Bibiano Fernandes, a decorated Arte Suave athlete who moved to MMA, and achieved equally great feats: such as the title of One Championship bantamweight champion, just to name one example. In March, Bibiano returned to the spotlight by competing in the IBJJF Pans. In the competition, he caught the attention of fans for two main reasons: for his return to Jiu-Jitsu and for winning, at the end of the bracket, his fourth Pan title.
“I’ve wanted to return to Jiu-Jitsu for a long time, but I dedicated myself a lot to MMA. I was able to return at the right time, at the Pans. I was very happy that it was in this championship and that I managed to be Pan champion once again, winning my fourth title. It was a great experience, with many fighters in the battle, I had to do five fights. It was my record, the most I had was four fights.”, he told the VF Comunica team.
For Bibiano, competing is the best way to show students the effectiveness of a position
For Bibiano, who is focusing heavily on Flash Academy and teaching his students, the Pan experience was enriching not only for him as an athlete, but as a professor as well. According to the black-belt, it is in competition that the practitioner has the best examples of positions that really work, and if these positions are performed by the professor, even better.
“Sometimes, we teach but there is still something that the student needs to understand. When we agree to compete, we show in practice the position we teach in training and this is the best example for understanding. The professor proves that what he says really works. The position works. It was very important for me to be an example for my athletes and for all the people who want to improve.”, reinforced the leader of Flash, dedicated to preparing world champions in the future. According to his own experience, building a complete athlete is a long-term mission, lasting five to nine years.
Returning to the elite of the Jiu-Jitsu competition made Bibiano Fernandes feel more motivated, as the gold medal reactivated his role as an athlete and idol of Arte Suave. “I’m going to keep fighting BJJ, I’m going to keep competing, I just need to get into the pace again.”, he assured.
Although the main topic was the Gi competition, Bibiano left his opinion regarding grappling, recognizing that it is a modality in rapid increasing, which has been offering good chances of visibility for athletes. Experienced in MMA and a collector of gold in Jiu-Jitsu, the fighter from Manaus says he prefers to stick with “classic Jiu-Jitsu”, which he considers more effective in “a self-defense situation or a dangerous circumstance.”.
