Dream Champs Shinya Aoki, Bibiano Fernandes Sign with One FC for Aug. 31 Debuts in Manila

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One Fighting Championship on Tuesday announced that Dream bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes has signed with the Singapore-based promotion and will make his debut Aug. 31 at One FC 5.

The promotion’s fifth outing will also showcase Dream lightweight titlist Shinya Aoki, according to a source close to the organization, who told Sherdog.com that Fernandes and Aoki have both signed exclusive deals and will compete against to-be-named opponents on Aug. 31. One FC 5 takes place at Araneta Coliseum in Manila and marks the promotion’s inaugural trip to the Philippines.

Fernandes, 32, was recently announced as the newest addition to the UFC’s bantamweight roster and was expected to compete at UFC 149. However, that announcement proved premature, as Fernandes later clarified that he negotiated with the UFC but never signed a contract. Prior to his bantamweight run, Fernandes held Dream’s featherweight title until relinquishing the strap to Hiroyuki Takaya on New Year’s Eve 2010. Fernandes rebounded by winning Dream’s 2011 bantamweight grand prix, topping World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Antonio Banuelos to become the promotion’s first and only bantamweight champion prior to its demise.

Aoki, 29, last competed April 20 in the Bellator cage, where Eddie Alvarez avenged his 2008 submission defeat to the jiu-jitsu ace by knocking Aoki out in the first round. The defeat snapped a seven-fight winning streak for the “Tobikan Judan,” who had bested the likes of Tatsuya Kawajiri, Marcus Aurelio, Lyle Beerbohm and Rich Clementi in that span. A veteran of Shooto, Deep, Pride and Strikeforce competition, Aoki owns 19 of his 30 career victories by submission.