ONE Championship: Chatri says he’s ‘resolved all issues’ with Bibiano Fernandes, title fight vs John Lineker is on

Chatri Sityodtong reveals bantamweight champ has signed on to defend belt against fellow Brazilian in December

‘This could possibly be a passing of the torch. But at the same time, Bibiano is super fired up,’ adds ONE chairman

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Bibiano Fernandes with his title at a ONE press conference. Photo: ONE Championship

Published: 8:00pm, 16 Sep 2021

ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has revealed he ironed out all his differences with Bibiano Fernandes during a Zoom call last week, paving the way for the bantamweight champ’s long-awaited return to action.

“The Flash” (24-4) will put his belt on the line against fellow Brazilian John Lineker at the Asian promotion’s 10th-anniversary show on December 5 in Singapore.

Two-time champ Fernandes is a long-standing ONE veteran with eight title defences, and is considered one of the greatest of all time in his weight class. But he has not been seen since settling his rivalry with Filipino former champ Kevin Belingon in Tokyo nearly two years ago, with financial demands proving to be a stumbling block.

“We just ran into the typical contract stuff,” Chatri told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour on Wednesday night. “But Bibi and I had a great chat on Friday. We resolved all the issues. He signed back on, everything’s great. He’s agreed to this fight with Lineker. Brazil’s gonna get what it wants.”

Former UFC star Lineker, 31, has marked himself out as the clear No 1 contender with three straight wins since joining ONE in July 2019.