Bibiano Fernandes Still Motivated Despite All His Titles, Trophies and Success | MMAWeekly.com

There is a certain aura surrounding Bibiano Fernandes these days. The 36-year-old hasn’t lost a fight in six years and is undefeated in the bantamweight division, which has been his long term home.

Modern fight fans know him as the ONE Championship bantamweight champion, a winner of six successive title fights. But anyone who has been following Asian MMA for the past decade would know that before that he held Dream titles at 135 and 145 pounds, earning both with Grand Prix wins.

He’s one of the most decorated fighters of all time, but as he approaches Friday night’s title defense against Reece McLaren at ONE: Age of Domination, Fernandes reveals that he is far from ready to hang up the gloves.

“If I’m still healthy, I want to keep training and keep moving forward. I can be champion for a long time. For me, fighting is my life. When I think about fighting, I think about myself. When I think about defending my title, I think about my life.”

So he’s not going to stop anytime soon, but Fernandes is also determined to maintain the form which has seen him win 11 straight fights, seven of which have been title matches.  There is absolutely no danger of complacency creeping in.

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“A lot of people when they reach a different level lose their focus. They think because they are a champion they can enjoy their life or slack off. I don’t think like that. I think I can be better today. I can be better tomorrow. I can be better the next day.”

There is evidence to suggest that Fernandes is actually improving. He has finished his last three opponents and recent form would seem to suggest that a fighter who used to regularly go the distance is becoming much more clinical in terms of finding submissions or knockouts.

He’s going up against an opponent 11 years his junior, who has already taken out two of the top contenders in the division. McLaren has a lot of momentum behind him and Fernandes is certainly not taking the Australian lightly.

“He’s a young guy. He wants to fight. He’s going to bring the fight. He’s very good at jiu-jitsu. He has very good takedowns. His stand up is okay. I’ll be surprised if he wants to fight stand-up with me. I believe he will try to take me down.”

Fernandes has held the ONE Championship bantamweight title since 2013. He won an interim version of the belt by beating Koetsu Okazaki and then unified the titles with a win over former champion Soo Chul Kim a few months later.

He also has two Dream belts, but says that the novelty of possessing so much hardware will never wear off.

“I see a lot of guys who when they win the belt say it’s just a piece of metal. For me, it’s not, it’s different. That piece of metal allowed me to meet you. That belt built my family. That belt built who I am. That’s why I respect having the belt.”

Fernandes describes himself as humble, but confident. He’s taking nothing for granted, but at the same time there is no doubt in the Brazilian’s mind that Friday night will bring win number 20 of his MMA career.

“I’m humble, I want to do my job, and I’m professional at what I’m doing. I believe in myself. I believe if I train right and doing everything right, I’m going to do my best and when I do my best the outcome is victory.”