Bibiano Fernandes ‘Is a Grown Man, He Can Go Fight Somewhere (Besides the UFC)'
Almost as fast as Bibiano Fernandes was announced to be fighting TUF alum Roland Delorme at UFC 149 in Calgary, the Brazilian featherweight was out.
Well, to be more accurate, it appears that he was never in.
Even though the UFC announced his fight for UFC 149, they removed him from the fight card on Monday then Fernandes took to his Facebook page to explain why.
“I would like to make it clear that I am not a UFC athlete as I did not sign any contract with the UFC organization,” Fernandez stated, before adding, “Negotiations between UFC and myself did take place; however, we could not resolve the issues on the table and as a result we did not come to an agreement.”
“If the guy says he didn’t sign, he didn’t sign,” UFC president Dana White told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday.
“That’s why I don’t like announcing a lot of stuff, because these guys will have a verbal, and verbals suck. You can’t get anything done with a verbal.
“He’ a grown man, he can go fight somewhere else if he wants if he doesn’t have a deal.”
That appears to be the option Fernandes is pursuing.
There are relatively few options for a fighter of Fernandes’ ilk, particularly to make the type of money that the UFC generally offers.
Having spent the majority of his career fighting in Japan, it wouldn’t be out of the question if Fernandes winds up fighting for One FC, currently the top Asian promotion.
Bellator Fighting Championships could be another option, but at this point, Fernandes has yet to say where he intends to fight.
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