With a title shot on the line, Team Lakay’s Kevin Belingon and Filipino-Australian Reece McLaren put it all on the line, Friday night in the undercard of ONE Championship: Quest for Greatness at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Kevin Belingon thrills
In a battle of two former world title challengers, Team Lakay’s Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon stunned Filipino-Australian Reece “Lightning” McLaren in a thriller to lock in another crack at ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes. Referee Olivier Coste waved the bout off officially at the 1:02 minute mark of round one.
With the victory, Belingon improved his record to 16-5, winning his third-straight bout, while McLaren dropped to 9-5.
It was another fearsome display of striking from Belingon. As if demanding another shot at the bantamweight world title with his performances, Belingon authored his second straight stoppage victory.
As expected, it was a thriller, featuring arguably the division’s most fearsome striker against one of its most skilled grapplers.
Moments after the first bell, the two competitors met at the center of the cage. A spinning wushu side kick just missed for Belingon, as McLaren goaded him with a taunt. Belingon, however, would have none of it, as he stalked his younger foe across the cage.
Cautious of McLaren’s world-class grappling capabilities, Belingon knew he couldn’t afford a ground war, and had to keep the fight standing. That’s when Belingon landed a monstrous right hand, landing flush on his opponent’s chin as McLaren crashed to the canvas.
In a familiar scene, Belingon swarmed McLaren with an endless barrage of ground and pound. McLaren simply had no answer for Belingon’s assault, as the Team Lakay standout forced the referee to intervene.
Edward Kelly’s streak snapped
Team Lakay’s Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly was edged out by the debuting Emilio “The Honey Badger” Urrutia, snapping the Baguio-native’s three-fight winning streak and falling to 9-4.
A beautiful side kick to the head from Kelly started the action, followed up by another two kicks which kept Urrutia at bay. The 33-year-old Filipino looked as though he wanted to keep Urrutia at a distance with a number of kicks, but the minute the American could get inside, the bout hit the floor.
“The Honey Badger” controlled the top game for the next few minutes, but Kelly eventually pushed away and the two were back to their feet. As the round came to a close, the Team Lakay standout had slowed down a bit, but was still trying to utilize his effective kicks.
Immediately, as the second round began, Urrutia —brought the match back to the ground, and jockeyed for position inside Kelly’s guard. For the rest of the frame, Urrutia continued to pepper “The Ferocious” with ground and pound from the top, controlling the Filipino with strikes and relentless pressure.
With just over 10 seconds left in the stanza, Urrutia landed a knee to the head of his foe, and then went for a slick kimura, but Kelly was saved by the bell.
Following a touch of the gloves, the third round began, and Urrutia was able to bring his opponent to the ground once again. During a scramble, “The Honey Badger” locked in two hooks on Kelly’s back, and worked for a submission, but was unable to do any damage, as the Filipino managed to sweep him and wind up in top position.
As the two returned to their feet, Kelly looked to land his kicks once again, but the gas tank was emptying out. Both men traded punches and kicks to finish off the match, ultimately leaving their fate in the judges’ hands.
Story lifted from ONEFC.com
