Bibiano Fernandes: The Profile of a Fighter on the Rise and a New Force in the Bantamweight Division

This weekend past was a great one for MMA. Several of the sport's top organizations held important events with big implications. The UFC returned to Denver, the same city in which the original UFC was held, where the organization's light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones defended his title against the always dangerous Quinton Rampage Jackson, and proved once and for all that the hype behind him is real. Bellator held the opening round of its bantamweight tournament, where current featherweight champ Joe Warren squared off against the Cuban wrestling phenom Alexis Villa, who knocked Warren flat early in the first round. Perhaps the most exciting event held this past weekend, however, was Dream 17, which took place in Japan, at Saitama Super Arena.

The Dream card treated fans to several fantastic submissions, a brutal head kick knockout, and battles between some of the sport's best and most exciting fighters. It also featured the opening round of the Dream bantamweight grand-prix. There were some heartbreaking movements during the event, in which some of the sports most beloved warriors showed their age and fell to up and coming fighters, while others began a new stage in their careers with successful debuts at new weight classes. One of those fighters making his debut at a lighter weight class was former featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes. The native of Manaus, Brazil, is likely to make an even bigger impact at bantamweight than he did at featherweight and is my pick to win the Dream tournament and become champion once more.

Before beginning his career in MMA, Fernandes was already one of the most successful Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioners of his generation. He won the Mundials (BJJ World Championships) three times at the black belt level, an accomplishment that few other have achieved. Fernandes, appropriately sporting the nickname “The Flash,” was known in Brazilian jiu jitsu circles as a fighter who would always go for broke, attempting high risk manoeuvres which often payed off. Flying triangles and armbars were trademarks of his, and he wasted no time in finishing his opponents with spectacular displays of these rare submissions. Fernandes' performance at Dream 17 was reminiscent of his quick finishes on the Brazilian jiu jitsu mats, as he choked out Takafumi Otsuka in less than one minute.

While Fernandes did not have a particularly promising start to his MMA career, it was not long before he became one of the top fighters in the featherweight division. In only his second fight, “The Flash” was pitted against one of the all time great featherweight fighters, Uriah Faber, albeit a few years before Faber achieved the recognition he has today. In that fight Fernandes almost handed Faber his second ever loss. Bibiano wasted no time taking the fight to Faber. He took Faber to the ground and transitioning to his back, established both hooks, and worked for a rear naked choke submission. Faber used his athleticism to turn and escape back to Fernandes' guard and land several strikes to the head of the Brazilian, one of which opened up a fight ending cut. Fernandes did not have it easy in his next fight either, taking on another all time great featherweight fighter in Kid Yamamoto. Fernandes gave Kid a good run and made the Japanese star work hard for a decision victory.

While Fernandes may have begun his career with a 1-2 record, he showed some great potential in taking on some of the best in the sport. Fernandes soon strung together a couple of wins before entering Dream's featherweight grand-prix, where he really made a name for himself. He showed that he could be a smart and patient fighter in the first round of the tournament, where he took on leg-lock specialist Masakatsu Iminari. Fernandes, despite his his skills on the mat, refused to play his opponent's game and would not follow him to the ground, showing not only intelligence and maturity as a fighter, but also the confidence in his striking skills, which he honed at Revolution MMA in Vancouver. At Revolution, Bibiano had been training with veteran Brazilian vale tudo fighter Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons, a former Chute Boxe member and training partner of Wanderlei and Anderson Silva.

As the tournament went on Fernandes continued to impress, quickly submitting world class wrestler Joe Warren and engaging in a close and very exciting match with Hiroyuki Takaya in the finals, where he continued to show his well-rounded skillset, opting to stand with the Street Fight Bancho through much of the fight. While many believe that Takaya should have gotten the win that night, it is my opinion that Fernandes was robbed of the opportunity to finish the fight on at least two occasion, when the referee decided to reset the fighters when Fernandes had Takaya's back. The fact that Bibiano was able to keep the fight close while having to fight not only Takaya but the ref as well, is enough to convince me that he deserved the win.

Fernandes would go on to display his ever improving striking skills in his first title defence against a game Joaquin Hansen. In that fight he not only showed good movement and technical striking, but displayed some impressive wrestling, as he put Hansen on the mat on more than one occasion with explosive double leg takedowns. He also reminded fans that he is still willing to entertain with high risk manoeuvres when he feels the timing is right, attacking Hansen with jumping knees and front kicks to his opponent on his toes. While he did not fare so well in his rematch with Takaya, dropping a unanimous decision to his Japanese rival, Fernandes had by that time earned his place among the top featherweights in the world.

> Talk DREAM 17 on the MMA forums listed on Pro Fighting Fans and check out the entire DREAM 17 fight card & results!

Here is a scary though: Fernandes has called bantamweight his “natural weight class.” To think that he has been fighting and defeating talented opponents at a weight class above his “natural” weight makes one wonder what kind of impact he can make now that he is fighting at bantamwight. He has already shown glimpses of his potential as a bantamweight against Otsuka. A change in camps, from Revolution to AMC Procreation under the guidance of Matt Hume, may also have positive impact on his career. This has yet to be seen, however, as we have witnesses but a “flash” of his potential as a bantamweight fighter. It is worth keeping an eye on the Dream bantamweight tournament to see how it pans out and find out whether or not Fernandes is as really as good as he appears to be. Only time will tell, but it looks right now like Fernandes is destined to shake up the bantamweight rankings in the near future.

By Matt King
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer