BELINGON FACES RIVAL FERNANDES IN OCTAGON RING RETURN

January 4, 2025 Provincial

BAGUIO CITY

A rivalry that started nearly nine years ago with four fights resulting to a 3-1 edge in favor of the former undisputed
bantamweight king, will have its possible conclusion next month. Lions MMA’s Kevin Belingon makes his comeback
to the octagon ring after more than two years of inactivity against his biggest rival, ring legend Bibiano Fernandesin
ONE 171 on Feruary 20 inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar. The 37-year old Belingon, who last saw action in Nov. 20, 2022 in a losing effort to Jae Woong Kim, will seek to dominate the 44 year old former bantamweight king who had the most title defense at seven.

The Silencer, who now wears the Lions trunk, vowed to dominate his rival and silence especially the judges for the
win. In an earlier interview, Belingon said: “In this fight, I don’t want to leave it to the judges. I have to get a clear edge and finish Bibiano here.” He added: “If there’s an opportunity to finish, I’ll be taking it, but I won’t be rushing.
I’ll search for an opening and take it from there. The most important thing is to stick to my game plan and dominate this fight.” It was a bold claim for Belingon, who had not fought since the 2022 defeat to Jae in a five-game losing stretch, but assured his fans that he has been very active.

He said that he has been grappling during his time away and he focused mostly on jiu-jitsu. “I know it’s been nearly two years since I last competed, but I’m alright. I’ve been really active in training, all of my teammates have been
competing, and I’ve always made myself available as their sparring partner. So there’s no worries on my end,” he said. “I got to focus on my grappling as well with Professor Gibran [Langbayan]. I’ve been working hard on my jiu-jitsu. I’ve joined and won tournaments in my time away from MMA.”

Belingon first challenged Fernandes in Jan. 23, 2016 for the latter’s belt. He lost in the 4:04 mark of the first round via kimura submission. He bounced back nine months later to beat Muin Gafurov that started a six-game winning
streak that gave him another opportunity to vie for Fernandes’ belt. The Nov. 19, 2018 showdown against Fernandes was a success as he decided the Brazilian jiu-jitsu master in a five-round thriller. But Belingon’s reign was short lived, however, that when they faced again for his mandatory defense in March 31, 2019, he was disqualified in the 1:21 mark of the second round via illegal elbows.

Belingon had a chance to regain the title seven months later but wss submitted via rear naked choke in the 1:21 mark of the second round. From there, it was downhill for Belingon as he lost to John Lineker (TKO punches), Won Il
Kwon (KO – punch to the body) and Jae (TKO – punches). Meanwhile, stablemate and strawweight champion Joshua Pacio is expected to face Jared Brooks soon to conclude their trilogy. Brooks wrested the 28-year old’s belt in Dec. 3, 2022 in Manila but regained the crown in March 1 last year when the Armeican was disqualified in under
one minute of the match due to illegal slam.

Pigeon Lobien/ABN