Stephen Loman knew that to make his ONE bantamweight title aspirations a reality, he has to go through former champion and Brazilian legend Bibiano Fernandes.

Loman finally gets his wish as he was chalked to take on the grappling specialist in the main card of ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on November 19.

The Team Lakay fighter will be taking on the toughest challenge of his career in what could be a potential world title eliminator.

“He’s the guy who defeated Kuya Kevin [Belingon], so I want to face him to see where my level is at right now,” said Loman.

• MMA: Team Lakay's Loman eager to pass Bibiano Fernandes test

While Fernandes lost his golden strap to John Lineker earlier this year, he’s still ranked No. 1 in the division. Loman, who’s ranked fourth, knows a win against Fernandes brings him one step closer to the now-vacant title.

The Filipino fighter currently holds a 16-2 professional MMA record and is riding high on a 10-fight winning streak. His last two victories in the cage have come against high-level competition.

When he entered ONE last year, he lived up to the hype and more by knocking out BJJ black belt Yusup Saadulaev.

Loman kept that momentum going with a dominant decision victory over Shoko Sato at ONE X this past March.

• MMA: Loman set for clash with Bibiano in November

While he acknowledged that Fernandes is a different beast altogether, Loman feels those fights have helped him become a much better fighter.

“Yusup [Saadulaev] was on a different level, and so was Shoko Sato, and those experiences helped me see my own weaknesses and work on them. The level of competition is that much higher in ONE Championship, so I need to step up my own game to make sure that I’m right up there with the top guys,” said Loman.

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