Kevin Belingon’s journey to a rematch against reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes has been a long road – 916 days, in fact.
After failing at his first crack at Fernandes back in January of 2016, Belingon defeated contender after contender. And as he disposed of his opponents, the beatings he gave became more ruthless, as he wanted to prove that he is the rightful number one contender to the Bantamweight championship.
However, the mixed martial arts gods handed the 30-year-old a trump card. Fernandes suffered an injury weeks after successfully defending his belt against two-division world champion Martin Nguyen.
Instead of waiting on the sidelines, Belingon made his own path. He accepted a bout against Nguyen for the interim ONE Bantamweight World Championship – the key to enter Fernandes’ kingdom.
Friday evening, Belingon was untouchable, puzzling Nguyen for most of the bout that lasted a whole 25 minutes.
“‘Yun ‘yung pinaghahandaan namin, ‘yung wrestling at grappling. Sa preparation pa lang namin, ‘yun na ‘yung kinalabasan,” recalled Belingon.
Even an accidental headbutt and a inadvertent low blow could not stop Belingon’s flurry. He was not to be denied.
After the bout, he was handed the interim championship. But Belingon was in no mood to celebrate.
With Fernandes flying over from Brazil to Manila to watch the bout, Belingon made it known that the journey is far from over.
“My friend, Bibiano,” Belingon told the reigning champion.
“I respect you as a champion, but we are in the same weight class, and I am the top contender, so there is no escape in facing me. I hope you recover fast, and that we can make the fight this year.”
“May belt na ko kaya wala nang contender, contender. Ako na talaga ‘yung nakalinya kay Bibiano. Hihintayin ko na lang ‘yung sasabihin ng ONE para mapaghandaan ng husto,” added Belingon – who is now 19-5 – during the post Reign of Kings presser.
“Madami pa kami tinatago, ‘yun ‘yung abangan niyo sa laban namin ni Bibi.”
