STEPHEN “The Sniper” Loman is a living testament that hard work pays off.
While some fans expected him to be run over by Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes on the ground, Loman dominated the grappling ace en route to a unanimous decision win at ONE Fight Night 4: Abbasov vs. Lee last Nov. 19 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“I just focused on my game plan and I did what I had to do, and I was happy about [my performance],” he said.
“I know he’s a legend in the sport, and I respect him a lot, but I prepared a lot, watched his fights. So, I learned from him, and yes I defeated a former world champion.”
Loman dominated Fernandes wherever the fight played out – beating the Brazilian to the punch on his feet and defending Fernandes’ advancements in wrestling while scoring takedowns.
In the rare moments when Fernandes did have the upperhand, the Filipino escaped and landed ground-and-pound to solidify the win.
After 15 minutes of action, there were no doubts as to who deserved the win. Loman looked like he could go on for three more rounds while Fernandes appeared dejected.
For Loman, his sudden improvement on the ground against a bonafide grappler like Fernandes is proof that hard work pays off.
“Our everyday drills on our wrestling and ground game – that’s what helped [me]. We’ve worked a lot for this fight and hard work pays off,” Loman said.
“Bibiano is a blackbelt in jiu-jitsu. We did drills a lot in wrestling, and of course on the ground.
“You see I was almost caught in the rear-naked choke, but I escaped and managed to control him. I almost got the [choke] myself, but he was able to control my arms and escape and get the position. But at the end of the day, I was composed.”