After tough upbringing in Brazil, MMA champion blessed to call Canada home
Talk to Bibiano (The Flash) Fernandes and you’ll hear the word blessed a lot.
Blessed to live in Canada. Blessed to have earned Canadian citizenship. Blessed to be a mixed martial artist.
Given his impoverished upbringing in Brazil, it’s understandable. His mother died when he was seven and he was sent from Manaus to live with his aunt in the Amazon jungle.
As a young teenager, he survived by selling ice cream on the streets and by cleaning cars and houses. He often opted for payment in food rather than money.