Fighting away from home is never nice. Yeah, travelling is cool and seeing new places is always neat but when you’re fighting somewhere and you don’t even speak the same language as the crowd I’m pretty sure it would take some getting used to. There’s always going to be a big crowd for home-town fighters and you’re guaranteed to get the smallest dressing room. For example, the last time I fought, I was given a changing room with a big sign on the door saying “ladies”. That was just in a town in my country, imagine what it’s like being a Brazilian and fighting most of your career in Japan. That’s how Bibiano Fernandes’ career has unfolded. Sure he holds wins over guys like Joachim Hansen, Antonio Banuelos, Masakatzu Iminari and Joe Warren but they were all in Japan and Japan can be a strange place at the best of times, never mind when you’re fighting.
Now that DREAM has folded, a number of very good fighters will be looking for a new home and Fernandes is one of the lucky ones, having found a home in the UFC. The DREAM bantamweight champion will be making his UFC début at UFC 149 in Alberta, Canada on July 21 against Roland Delorme. Having beaten Iminari and Hansen, I can’t imagine Fernandes being intimidated by Delorme’s submissions and ground game. I’d make more of this but since Bibiano Fernandes was possibly the best bantamweight in the world to not be signed to the UFC I’m gonna assume you know who he is. If you don’t, watch this highlight video made by HelloJapan05. Yes, that is Urijah Faber he is taking down near the start of the video. [source]
