Bibiano Fernandes December return announced by ONE CEO

ONE Championship celebrates a decade as an organization this month. But the anniversary show will be transpiring in December.

A Pride-style matchmaking bout has been teased for the legendary Demetrious Johnson. ONE figurehead Chatri Sityodtong will be breaking the news on that with Ariel Helwani on Wednesday. A reportedly cool fight for Mighty Mouse that both parties have already accepted for the final month of the year.

I also addressed a middleweight fight that ONE fans seem to be clamoring for. But Chatri said he was not interested in booking Reinier de Ridder vs Kiamrian Abbasov for the ONE X anniversary card.

So what can we look forward to from ONE Championship in the last month of 2021? How about a Bibiano Fernandes December return?

Fernandes is a multi-time ONE bantamweight world champion and is among the most accomplished combatants pound for pound in the promotion’s history.

Bibiano Fernandes is still the reigning ONE king at bantamweight despite not having stepped inside the Circle for just shy of two years now.

Fernandes last got out there in October 2019 where he finished Kevin Belingon via second-round rear-naked choke. This ended off the four-fight series between Fernandes and Belingon. The latter has competed since that fourth fight but the former has remained on the sidelines until now.

I spoke with ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong and he offered some insights into the long-awaited return of the ONE Bantamweight world champion.

Bibiano Fernandes December return

Having some dialogue with Matt Hume and setting up a talk with Bibiano Fernandes about a 2021 return to the ONE Circle

Chatri Sityodtong stated, “Bibiano and I spoke on Friday. We had a nice Zoom call and came to terms. So his next fight is going to be in December. I don’t want to announce the opponent yet. Let them both sign first but definitely very excited for Bibiano to return to the fold and I’m glad we’re able to come to a resolution.”

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

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