Multiple-time IBJJF World Championship winner Bibiano Fernandes has just announced his retirement from professional MMA, but he will continue competing in Jiu-Jitsu for many years to come. He has had a very impressive career in MMA, as he has amassed a 24-6 professional record that includes two different reigns as the bantamweight world champion at ONE Championship. He still has one more fight ahead of him too, as he’s scheduled to face Kevin Belingon for the fifth time at ONE 171 on February 20th, 2025. It’s not often that fighters announce their decision to retire before their final fight, but that’s exactly what Fernandes did in a recent interview with Canadian news outlet CBC.
When Bibiano Fernandes was asked about why felt that the time was right for his retirement from MMA, he explained that other commitments in his life are more pressing now:
“I’ve always done Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I’m a five-time world champion for Jiu-Jitsu and I changed it for MMA, mixed martial arts. The thing is, right now I have my own school and I have a lot of students right now, and the time required to look after my students.”
Jiu-Jitsu has always been there for Fernandes, and he had already won a world title at black belt before he even made his MMA debut. He actually returned to IBJJF competition last year and won gold in the masters division, and he also spoke a little about the drive he has to compete in the sport after all these years:
“Jiu-Jitsu is my love, you know what I mean? It is something I like because I like challenging myself to see who I am. People want to see how I’m doing, if I’m still sharp, still good. I’m still there in the game.”
That’s when Fernandes clarified that even though he’s retiring from MMA, he will be competing in Jiu-Jitsu for as long as he can:
“Mixed martial arts will be the past. Jiu-Jitsu, no. Jiu-Jitsu I’ll keep going until I’m 80. No problem. But mixed martial arts, yes. I have to push it away a little bit. Because at this point in my life, I am 45, so I need to look out for what’s best for my mind’s health and my physical health moving forward.”
Although this will be his retirement fight, Bibiano Fernandes isn’t leaving MMA behind entirely. He thinks he still has a role to play for the next generation:
“But I can pass the knowledge for the younger guys who ask me ‘can I do it?’ I’d say yes! A hundred percent. I’d say you can travel the planet. You become good, you can go to Brazil, go to Qatar, go wherever you want to go. But you have to keep training and dedicate your life. I dedicated my life to mixed martial arts for 22 years. It’s a lot of discipline to do it this way.”
