By Rafael Bandayrel
Interim bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon gets a chance at redemption as he takes on Brazilian star Bibiano Fernandes in a bantamweight title unification bout in ONE: Heart of the Lion card on Nov. 9 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
It will be a classic clash of styles as Belingon, a striker, will attempt to get a win from master grappler Fernandes, who handed the Filipino his only loss in two years.
In addition to his superior stand-up game, Belingon believes the presence of Filipinos in Singapore will give him an extra edge over the Brazilian.
“Fighting in Singapore is almost like fighting in Manila. Thousands of Filipinos are based there, and they never fail to show support when their fellow Filipino is scheduled to compete at a ONE Championship event,” Belingon said during ONE’s worldwide conference call Thursday.
In 2016, Belingon had his first crack at Fernandes’ gold.
However, “The Silencer” was caught by surprise with a kimura lock, leading to his submission at 4:04 of the opening round.
Since then, Belingon and the rest of Team Lakay had significantly minimized their perceived weakness in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The Baguio native had also strung together six consecutive victories including against notables Reece McLaren, Andrew Leone and Martin Nguyen to secure the interim belt.
