ONE Championship’s bantamweight kingpin and world-ranked fighter Bibiano Fernandes again laid waste to another top contender.
Saturday evening at the Helong Stadium in Changsha China, Fernandes superior ground game proved enough as he was able to quickly nullify Lakay MMA’s Kevin Belingon’s striking for a submission victory for his 11th straight victory.
#ONEFightNight The ONE World Bantamweight Champion makes his way to the cage pic.twitter.com/aHgkQezBpO
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) January 23, 2016
Baguio-native Belingon started the match with a stand-up exchange with his Brazilian foe. As Fernandes’ leg kick attempt was caught by the Filipino, “The Silencer” took his opponent down, a move that proved to be a vital error in his gameplan. The ONE world champion quickly swept Belingon for a reversal and transitioned with ease on the mat.
Belingon tried to stand-up but was quickly dragged down once more. One in the side control, “The Flash” quickly trapped the right arm of the challenger and secure a tight kimura. Belingon had no other recourse but to tap out at the 4:04 mark of the contest.
After the fight, the humble champion said that Belingon was a tough opponent. “But I knew my jiujitsu was enough to win this fight,” he said in the post-fight. He then added that he will take on all challengers that ONE Championship will put in front of him.
With the win, Fernandes slate goes up to an impressive 19-3 record. Belingon falls to 13-5.
Asuka Mikami outclasses Roy Doliguez for 15 minutes
In the undercard, another Filipino succumbed to great wrestling as Roy Doliguez was taken down with great ease in 15 minutes of action against Japanese flyweight Asuka “Riku Shibuya” Mikami.
Doliguez, who admitted to have focused on his striking for the fight, failed to neutralize the wrestling of Mikami as he was dragged down with ease all throughout the fight. After the first round, the former pro boxer suffered a gash due to sharp elbows by his opponent.
It was all the same in the next two rounds with Doliguez failing to gain any momentum from his stand-up exchanges. As “The Dominator” gained an advantage on the stand-up, Mikami quickly dragged his opponent down for the takedown to halt any momentum gained by Doliguez.
Moreover, fatigue set in for the Filipino as the fight went on. The active guard of Doliguez slowly depreciated as the fight went on and in the third round, “The Dominator” was dominated in spending most of his time on his back.
The result was a unanimous decision victory for Asuka Mikami as his slate goes up to 13-3-2. Doliguez suffered his second straight defeat, all in the ONE cage, as his record goes down to 6-3.
Next week, ONE Championship will head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with three Filipinos slated in the card. Eric Kelly and Team Lakay fighters Eduard Folayang and Geje Eustaquio are scheduled for the card. Tune-in to Tiebreaker Times for more updates!
