Bibiano Fernandes defeated Joachim Hansen by split decision Monday in Yokohama, Japan, looking as good on his feet as he ever has and retaining his Dream featherweight belt in the main event at Dream.13.
Fernandes surprised Hansen with a flurry of punches and kicks in the first minute of the fight, and throughout the first round it was Fernandes, the Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist, who was getting the better of the exchanges on the feet with Hansen, the stand-up fighter. In fact, Fernandes was less effective on the ground than he was standing up in the first round: At one point Fernandes took Hansen down and got on top of him, but Hansen managed to break free and get back to his feet as Fernandes was attempting to secure side control.
The second started in much the same way, with Fernandes getting Hansen to the ground but not doing anything before Hansen got back up. It was a stand-up fight for a few more minutes after that, and although Hansen did land a good uppercut with a minute remaining in the second round, he didn't do much damage. Fernandes deserved the decision.
Hansen, who moved down from lightweight, looked less powerful as a featherweight. He was once among the best strikers in the lightweight division, but his punches didn't seem to hurt Fernandes much. With the loss, Hansen is now 19-9-1, and he still hasn't won a fight since his upset of Shinya Aoki in the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix final in July of 2008.
Fernandes, who improved to 8-2, can make a strong case that he's the best featherweight outside the WEC. If his stand-up continues to improve to go along with his great ground game, Fernandes can be a force in the featherweight division.
Fernandes surprised Hansen with a flurry of punches and kicks in the first minute of the fight, and throughout the first round it was Fernandes, the Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist, who was getting the better of the exchanges on the feet with Hansen, the stand-up fighter. In fact, Fernandes was less effective on the ground than he was standing up in the first round: At one point Fernandes took Hansen down and got on top of him, but Hansen managed to break free and get back to his feet as Fernandes was attempting to secure side control.
The second started in much the same way, with Fernandes getting Hansen to the ground but not doing anything before Hansen got back up. It was a stand-up fight for a few more minutes after that, and although Hansen did land a good uppercut with a minute remaining in the second round, he didn't do much damage. Fernandes deserved the decision.
Hansen, who moved down from lightweight, looked less powerful as a featherweight. He was once among the best strikers in the lightweight division, but his punches didn't seem to hurt Fernandes much. With the loss, Hansen is now 19-9-1, and he still hasn't won a fight since his upset of Shinya Aoki in the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix final in July of 2008.
Fernandes, who improved to 8-2, can make a strong case that he's the best featherweight outside the WEC. If his stand-up continues to improve to go along with his great ground game, Fernandes can be a force in the featherweight division.
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