ONE Championship: Bibiano Fernandes sees South Korea’s Kwon Won-il as next bantamweight title challenger
- Bantamweight champ has his hands full with John Lineker at Bad Blood on February 11, but thinks Kwon is next contender in line
- ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s me or John Lineker,’ he says – Kwon is ‘supposed to get the chance’
ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes has his hands full with John Lineker, but he has already sized up the next challenger in the queue for a title shot.
Fernandes (24-4) will attempt to defend his title against his fellow Brazilian Lineker in the main event of ONE: Bad Blood on February 11 in Singapore. It is widely considered the toughest challenge of his 13-fight run in the Asian martial arts organisation.
If the 41-year-old champion successfully defends the title, he anticipates another tough challenge in the form of 26-year-old South Korean knockout artist Kwon Won-il thereafter.
“I believe we’ll have the Korean boy,” he said. “He’s pretty good.
“He deserves it. He did a pretty good job. He’s next in line. It doesn’t matter if it’s me or John Lineker, he is supposed to get the chance.”
Kwon (11-3) has fought nine times in ONE Championship, tallying six victories and three losses. He has seemingly found his groove in his last three fights, defeating Bruno Pucci, Chen Rui, and most impressively, former bantamweight king Kevin Belingon – all by knockout.
Fernandes has paid close attention to Kwon, as he does all the fighters in his division.