ONE Championship weigh-in results: Bibiano Fernandes fails hydration test, comes in heavy for Lights Out
- Bantamweight MMA champ will have until noon on Friday to make weight and pass hydration for title fight with John Lineker
- Headliners Thanh Le and Garry Tonon both hit their marks, but several other fighters come in over weight in Singapore
Bibiano Fernandes’s long-awaited title fight with John Lineker is once again in jeopardy.
Fernandes, ONE Championship’s long-reigning bantamweight champion, is slated to defend his belt against fellow Brazilian John Lineker in the co-headliner of Friday’s ONE: Lights Out event in Singapore. Unfortunately, the champion failed his pre-fight hydration test.
ONE Championship athletes are required to maintain a hydration value less than or equal to 1.0250 on two pre-fight tests. The promotion’s second round of tests were facilitated on Thursday morning, and Fernandes came in over the limit at 1.0292.
The 41-year-old Brazilian (24-4), who could be heard speaking animatedly at length with officials after his failed test, later missed weight for his fight when he came back at 4pm, tipping the scales at 147 pounds – two pounds over the limit.
Per protocol, Fernandes will now have until noon local time on Friday – the day of the fight – to pass his hydration test and make weight. If he fails to do so, his bout with Lineker (34-9) will either be renegotiated as a catchweight, with Fernandes losing a percentage of his purse, or cancelled outright.
The latter outcome would be a significant blow as the pair’s fight was already postponed from a February event when Lineker tested positive for Covid-19, while Fernandes has had to wait since October 2019 for a fight.
Featherweight champion Thanh Le and challenger Garry Tonon, who will battle for gold in the card’s main event, both ultimately passed their hydration tests and made weight.