World bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes defended his ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) belt by forcing erstwhile undefeated South Korean Kim Dae Hwan to submission in the second round of the main event of ONE FC: Warrior’s Way at the Mall of Asia Arena Pasay City on Friday night.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist forced Kim to the ground with aggressive takedowns to stymie the strikes of the Korean.

While Kim landed some blows on Fernandes, the champion effectively dodged Kim’s attack and lunged for a takedown and took full mount on the challenger for a rear-naked choke. Kim finally submitted at the 1:16 mark of the second round.

“He swung, I ducked, I kind of told him to stay there (in my hold) and give up,” Fernandes candidly recalled.

The champion, now holding a 17-3 card, has finally won via submission after three won decisions.

“I feel good today for coming back to form. I know Kim is hungry but I fight ’till I die,” Fernandes said.

In the supporting main event, former Ultimate Fighting Championship star Brandon Vera shellacked current URCC heavyweight champion Igor Subora in the first round of his ONE FC debut with a vicious left cross and three soccer kicks.

The Fil-Am Vera, the crowd favorite of the billing, pounded Subora from the get-go, staggering the Ukrainian with combinations and leaving his face bloodied before the knockout.

Vera declared that he intends to end up as the first heavyweight world champion of ONE FC.

“[The plan is to] climb the ladder, take all challengers, and get the ONE FC belt,” he said.

In the undercards, three Filipino fighters gained crucial wins while three others lost badly.

Bantamweight Kevin Belingon could be a challenger to Fernandes as he outpunched Koetsu Okazaki of Japan and won via unanimous decision.

Lady flyweight Ana Julaton likewise drew a unanimous decision win over Egyptian Walaa Abbas while atomweight Jujeath Nagaowa is still undefeated in ONE FC with a TKO on Tharoth Sam of Cambodia.

Lightweight Eduard Folayang, a potential championship contender, blew his chances as Russian foe Timofey Nastyukhin delivered a vicious right flying knee to his chin to knock him out.

Former ONE FC featherweight champion Honorio Banario likewise suffered the same fate as he was outclassed by young Brazilian grappler Herbert Burns via submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round.

Rene Catalan was knocked out by Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke of Thailand with a knee on his liver in the first round of their flyweight match.

Rounding up the fight card were two light heavyweight results–a third-round knockout win by jiu-jitsu guru Roger Gracie of Brazil against English journeyman James McSweeney and a unanimous decision win by American Jake Butler against Frenchman Sylvain Potard.