Photo: Personal Archive

Bibiano Fernandes, 41, has an appointment under One Championship for December 5. The bantamweight champion will be defending his belt against John Lineker, who has only fought three times in the organization, between 2019 and 2021. The announcement was made by One’s CEO, Chatri Sityodtong.

Throughout his career, which began in 2004, Bibiano has achieved 24 wins and suffered four losses. In One Championship, which has employed him since 2012, he has 11 wins and just one loss.

“I’m happy to be able to defend my belt again,” the Brazilian said in a recent interview. “I’ve been on this journey for a long time. I’m happy, healthy, well trained. I want to show younger people that with discipline and hard work, you can get to where you want. Bibiano is the result of a lot of effort, lots of faith and dedication.”

In his native state of Amazonas, where he was staying several days ago, Bibiano got in touch with his roots before returning to Canada to resume his training.

“I’m in Manaus to visit my family and friends and have contact with nature,” he said. “I always come to Brazil before I have an important appointment in my life. Out here, the other day, I did a lecture at a military school for more than 200 students, where I spoke about the importance of being confident, having discipline and courage.” He added: “I’m quite happy to be here.”

Bibiano also revealed that he’s not done evolving in Jiu-Jitsu, as was recently recognized by his teacher, Prof. Osvaldo Alves.

“I’ve received another degree on the black belt,” said Bibiano, who is a three-time BJJ world champion. “I’m happy to conquer another step in the black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, the sport that gave me everything I have. I lost my mom very early, and my dad had no means to raise us; I went to the interior of Amazonas, but if today I am someone, it was the sport that saved me and because I believed I could be someone.”

Photo: Personal Archive

Esdras Jr is in the midst of a great phase on the competitive circuit of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). The black-belt from Ares has been going strong for four consecutive tournaments – he became champion at the IBJJF’s Dallas Open, Houston Open, New Orleans Atlanta Open and, most recently, at the No-Gi Pan, one of the most important competitions on the 2021 calendar.

His latest triumph, along with the points won in previous tourneys, caused Esdras to grab the top spot in the master 1 feather division with 135 points – nine more than the UFC fighter Rani Yahya.

In a recent interview, Esdras Jr spoke of what makes him a champion in 2021. “It’s hard to talk about just on aspect, but I think consistency is the key to reaching any goal. Maybe I’m not even training more in terms of volume, but without a doubt, I’m trying to train in a more intelligent way. Knowing how to understand your body and respect your limits is very important to comprehending when you have to do that training session where you’re fighting for real – most days! – or train by trying to understand and control the situations more. I’ve been going hard in my physical preparation since late last year, focusing a lot on injury prevention work. I’m feeling very well physically and mentally.”

To earn the gold medal at the No-Gi Pan, Esdras Jr had to defeat three tough opponents, including Silvio Duran (Nova União) in the semifinal round and Ermilio Lima (Fight Sports) in the final.

According to Esdras, he felt well and prepared for each match. “I was happy with my performance,” he said. “But I can say the toughest fight this time was cutting weight. The last time I weighed less than 67kg, I was in middle school! This Pan was the first time I hit feather in no-gi, which is well below feather in the gi. On the day of the competition, I woke up weighing 66kg – there I woke up feeling well and ready to fight. It was an incredible journey.”

Photo: Personal Archive

He went on to offer advice on winning any BJJ competition: “First, one should not worry about the result! Perhaps it seems like madness to say that, but when we think about results too much, the tendency is to demand a lot of ourselves, and I believe this demand brings about unnecessary tension. Step on the mat alert, but with tranquility. It’s about doing what you trained to do, match by match, trusting yourself and your jiu-jitsu. That’s all you should think about. Have patience to play – jiu-jitsu is like chess.”

And finally, on the subject of mindset, he said: “When you do what must be done, it works out! It’s a matter of training hard, dieting, physical preparation, technical and tactical training, knowing your strong points and developing a game plan. It’s impossible not to feel well and prepared. Step on the mat and believe that your plan is going to work. Work on your mind to be positive when things don’t come out as planned, because knowing how to control your mind is important. Believe until the end! I couldn’t go without mentioning also Fellipe Barros, my mental coach, who is always there when I need him.”

In the United States, Esdras trains beside Osvaldo Queixinho at Ares BJJ in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hiago is one of the best black belts in the world. Photo: Personal archive

An elite light featherweight, Hiago George succeeded in winning gold in his first BJJ tournament in 2021. At the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, the Cícero Costha-trained black-belt defeated three strong opponents to walk out with a gold medal and a beautiful eagle-shaped trophy.

First he had to get past Pablo Mantovani (Atos) in order to beat Lucas Pinheiro (Atos) and Diego Pato (Cícero Costha) in the semifinals and final, respectively. All matches were decided by points, which were scored through dominant positions achieved by the champion.

“The announcement of the events was in very short notice, but thank God I always keep myself training very hard,” Hiago said in a recent interview. “I give it 110% every day and stay prepared for any challenges, at any time. I had a very good performance and I’m celebrating a lot with this great title in my career. I’m happy to have fought well against great athletes who are at the top of the category. My game flowed well; I acted on top and on the bottom. My passing game and my guard game are sharp right now.”

The athletes, who were invited by the AJP, the entity that organizes these events in Abu Dhabi, stayed in a hotel in quarantine for 14 days, getting tested daily as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus. Hiago summed up to us the days preceding the tourney:

“It was an impeccable championship done by the AJP. All athletes were treated like professionals, and that’s very gratifying. The sheikh has a unique love for BJJ, and that’s why he values our art so highly. We were quarantined in the hotel, did daily tests because of the new coronavirus, and it all worked out in the end. It’s a new experience to have a mask attached to my face the whole time, but we adapt. I will always do my part so that everything goes back to normal soon, and I can barely wait to return to the UAE to fight again.”

Born in Livramento de Nossa Senhora, in the state of Bahia, the land of great fighters like Junior Cigano, Hiago is now preparing his transition into MMA. He told us he used to box and gave us insight on how he views this new challenge. “MMA has always been something I have a great desire for. To give you an idea, I had contact with the martial art through boxing 14 years ago and, after that, I began doing BJJ, the sport I wound up prioritizing. After achieving great titles in BJJ, the time has come to take another step and kick the challenges up a notch. I’ve already been practicing my standup for some time — I had a fight scheduled — but because of the pandemic, everything got delayed. I’m going to fight in August.”

On how he’s been handling the new kind of training, he said, “The main difference, for me, was adapting BJJ while I strike my opponent, and my conditioning, because it’s a different type of stimulation. You have to be in a very good physical condition to have a good performance in the fight.”

Hiago is not quitting competitive jiu-jitsu. He’s fighting again in June, both in Copa Pódio and in the AJP’s South America event.

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz has been on the sidelines with a knee injury, and hasn’t competed since defending his title in October 2011. As of now, there’s no firm timeline for his return, and the idea that he should be stripped of his title has been tossed around numerous message boards and Twitter feeds.

In the video above, Cruz talks about his injury, recovery, return and how devastated he would be if his title was taken away from him. Check it out.

Source: Rick Lee

Jose Aldo has accepted the challenge from Anthony Pettis and the two will face each other on Aug. 3. Aldo earns a lightweight title shot with the win. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

After some initial reluctancy, Jose Aldo has accepted the challenge of lightweight Anthony Pettis, and the two will fight for the featherweight title, according to UFC President Dana White.

In addition, should Aldo win the match-up with Pettis scheduled for Aug. 3, the current 145-pound champ will move up a weight class to fight for the lightweight title, according to a report by MMAjunkie.com.

“Aldo vs. Pettis is on!” White said in a post on Twitter, following that up with, “Yes, Aldo vs. Pettis and it’s for Aldo’s UFC 145-(pound) title.”

White originally told reporters following UFC 157 that Aldo refused to fight Pettis because the featherweight champ and his manager, Andre Pederneiras, thought the lightweight challenger didn’t deserve a shot at the belt. But once news got out with White’s comments, Aldo and camp changed their tune, telling SportTV.com that “heads will roll” once he faces Pettis.

Pettis was waiting to face the the winner of the lightweight title fight between champ Benson Henderson and No. 1 contender Gilbert Melendez that takes place at UFC on Fox 7 in April. However, once he saw Aldo beat Frankie Edgar at UFC 156 last month, Pettis swiftly texted White, asking for a shot at the featherweight king.

The venue for the Aldo-Pettis title fight is yet to be announced.

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis talks with GRACIEMAG.com contributor Nalty Junior and discusses his upcoming fight with Jose Aldo, jiu-jitsu, the UFC and more. Check it out.

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Tarec Saffiedine stands in the cage during his welterweight bout against Scott Smith at the Strikeforce event at Sears Centre Arena on July 30, 2011 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Forza LLC/Forza LLC via Getty Images)

After a year of canceled events, numerous injuries to their high-profile athletes and disagreements with Showtime, Strikeforce is closing its doors after their Jan. 12 show.

The fight card, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, will be the promotion’s last before it’s all said and done. However, one of the two fighters in the main event, Tarec Saffiedine (13-3), was worried that the last event wouldn’t even happen.

The recent rash of injuries the company suffered made them cancel their two previous events, so Saffiedine thought the same might happen to the upcoming card in Oklahoma City.

“When I heard that Gilbert Melendez and Luke Rockhold got injured and they didn’t find an opponent for Daniel Cormier and other guys, I was like ‘Maybe they’ll cancel the show. Maybe the show’s not going to happen,'” Saffiedine told GRACIEMAG.com. “I was a little worried [about that] more than Nate Marquardt dropping out of the fight. I don’t think it’s his style to back out of a fight … so I was more afraid of the show being completely canceled because of all these injuries.”

According to the fighter, he was skeptical and worried that after dealing with a handful of fighters withdrawing from the card due to different types of injuries, Strikeforce would decide to just call it quits. Luckily for him, they haven’t, and he’ll fight Nate Marquardt in the main event for the Strikeforce welterweight title.

Following UFC 155, UFC president Dana White apologized to all the Strikeforce fighters for the mess they had to deal with over the last several months, saying what the athletes went through is terrible and that he’s disgusted by it.

Dana White was apologetic towards Strikeforce fighters after consecutive canceled shows and the announcement that the promotion would cease after Jan. 12. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

“I should probably sit down with all of them,” White said in Las Vegas following their last Pay-Per-View. “It won’t happen again; [It’s] over now.”

Before speaking with GRACIEMAG.com, Saffiedine didn’t realize White said this, but responded to the apology by saying it’s great to hear that kind of thing coming from the UFC boss. Fighters earn their living by stepping into the cage, so to hear White share his regret for how things went is appreciated. He added, however, that it’s ultimately unnecessary.

“I think it’s nice because a lot of fighters never had the chance to fight as much as … they wanted to,” Saffiedine said when hearing of White’s statement. “I think it’s nice for him to … understand that we all need to fight and we all need to make money. I don’t think he needed to apologize, but I think it’s nice that he did.”

The Belgian fighter has spent nearly the last three years competing exclusively for Strikeforce. It’s been his home since he defeated James Terry by unanimous decision at Strikforce Challengers 6 in February of 2010. After seven fights and finally working his way up to a title opportunity, Saffiedine can’t help but feel a bit saddened by the end of the Strikeforce era.

It was a great organization and a big part of his career, he said, and being on the promotion’s final effort is an honor the Team Quest fighter genuinely appreciates.

After nearly three years fighting only in Strikeforce, Tarec Saffiedine is sad to see the company come to a close. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Forza LLC/Forza LLC via Getty Images)

“It’s sad to see Strikeforce go … [and] I really enjoyed fighting for them for a long time,” he said, remembering all the times he stepped in the cage for the company. “They’ve always been good to me. I always wanted to fight a little bit more, but that was the case for all the fighters …

“I was pretty happy … I’m really thankful to be part of the last show.”

As of right now, no new injuries have set a dark cloud over the upcoming Strikeforce show, and all fighters are currently on pace to compete on Jan. 12. Saffiedine said his camp went “pretty well” and, apart from the typical aches and pains that stem from training, nothing major has kept him from pushing himself at 100 percent.

Once fight night comes and goes, “Sponge,” as he’s been called, will work on the next step of his career: a chance to fight in the UFC.

It’s been a dream of his to fight for the Las Vegas-based promotion, and if he wins his title fight against the former No. 1 UFC middleweight contender, Marquardt, then he might just get his chance.

“Hopefully, I earn a spot,” he said. “My goal is … to be the first Belgian to have a fight in the UFC. That’s what I want to accomplish, and so far I’ve been reaching all my goals.”

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