Clearly, there was no definitive winner after the controversial ending to the match between Team Lakay’s Kevin Belingon and Bibiano Fernandes.
During the first of four world title bouts during ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday evening, the match-up between two of the world’s top bantamweights came to a stop with 3:31 left in the third canto.
In that sequence, the Brazilian took the Filipino down, but the latter threw a few sharp elbows to the back of his opponent’s head. With this, the official had no other choice but to stop the bout, as Fernandes was clearly dazed and frustrated.
After five minutes, it seemed that he could not continue, resulting in a red flag on Belingon. He also lost the ONE Bantamweight World Championship.
It was a disappointing ending to what was built up as the definitive end to their rivalry.
And so during the post-event press conference, ONE CEO and Chairman Chatri Sityodtong called for an immediate rematch between the two.
“There will be an automatic rematch.
“Bibiano is the champion due to a technicality. He didn’t want to win that belt that way. For sure, Belingon didn’t want to lose that way either. These are two warriors, two of the best in the world. They need to have another shot, fair and square,” he shared.
After the bout, Fernandes did not even take the belt with him, showing that even he was not content with the finish.
“Bibiano didn’t want the belt under those circumstances. Bibiano is a true world champion in every sense of the word.
“The elbow was unfortunate and he was not able to continue. We will see an immediate rematch,” Sityodtong emphasized.
Upon hearing this, Belingon could not help but be grateful for another opportunity.
