Former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon is looking to end his bitter rivalry with Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes once and for all.
The two will finally decide the king of the talent-rich bantamweight division when they meet inside the circle for a historic fourth encounter at ONE: Century on October 13 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
Aiming to leave all doubts behind, “The Silencer” said that he’s going for broke in ‘The Land of The Rising Sun’.
“More than ever, I am familiar with Bibiano. His style, the way he moves… I already know what to expect and what I’ll do in our fourth match,” said Belingon.
“For our game plan, I’m leaving it to coach Mark Sangiao so I can effectively counter his striking and take-downs. Hard to tell how it will end, but I’m looking for a knockout so that all talks will be settled,” the native of Baguio City continued.
“It’s hard to leave this to the judges because there would be doubts there. I have to get that knockout win.”
The Kiangan, Mountain Province native has kept busy in training to stay in tip-top shape even before the bout was officially announced by ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong in his social media.
He plans to stick with Team Lakay’s program in preparation for the bout, but at the same time come down from the mountains of Baguio to work on his grappling with decorated internationalist John Baylonm who holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“Still the same preparations, still the same training,” Belingon shared.
“We’re looking at how Bibiano moved in our previous battle and how we’d counter his [take-down] attempts. We’re also scheduling to go down to Manila to train with coach John Baylon.”
Eager to reclaim the ONE Bantamweight World Title, Belingon said that a win over Fernandes would not just prove that he is the best in his weight class. It will also prove that he belongs to the finest mixed martial arts stable in Asia.
“This is so important for us,” said Belingon.
“If we get the belt back, I think it will prove that we’re number one in Asia.”
