Belingon fights Russian in ONE FC

SINGAPORE – Filipino Kevin Belingon tries to get back into winning track as he collides with Yusup Saadulayev of Russia in one of the highlight bouts of the Bantamweight Grand Prix of the ONE Fighting Championship 6 dubbed Rise of Kings at the Singapore Indoor Stadium here tonight.

The 24-year-old Belingon has vowed to go for no less than a victory against Saadulayev, called the “Maestro” for his clinical and lethal grappling skills, in a bid to get into the mix after dropping his last two fights.

The Baguio-based Team Lakay mainstay won his first nine mixed martial arts fights and emerged a URCC champion but reeled back after absorbing stinging losses to Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari of Iran in ONE FC: War of the Lions here last March 31 and Soo Chul Kim of Korea in ONE FC: Pride of a Nation in Manila last Aug. 31.

“It’s a must-win for me because I’ve been losing lately,” Belingon told The STAR in Filipino in yesterday’s weigh-in at The Cathay’s External Atrium where he checked in at 61kg flat.

“I’m in the best shape of my life and I’ve prepared hard for this particular fight and worked on my grappling defense because I know he (Saadulayev) is a very strong and respected wrestler,” said Belingon.

Marq Sanquiao, who put up Team Lakay a decade ago, blamed Belingon’s last setback to a six-stitch cut he sustained after getting kneed on the left eyebrow during the training.

“He had to stopped training with his grappling defense after sustaining that gash, that’s why he lost,” said the 33-year-old Sanquiao, a gold medalist in sanshou, the combat event of wushu, in the 1991 Southeast Asian Games before he decided to turn pro.

Belingon, who started in Ifugao lcoal martial art “Bultong” before turning to wushu and MMA, desperately needs this victory to get him up the bantamweight ladder and perhaps win more fights to qualify in the Bantamweight Grand Prix that will culminate late next year.

Interestingly, its the same group that included Jens “Lil Evil” Pulver, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first lightweight champion who will take on Zhao Ya Fei of of China, and Korean slugger Min Jung Song and Japanese Masakatsu Ueda, who will be fighting each other tonight.

Belingon hopes to join compatriots Eric Kelly, Eduard Folayang and Honorio Banario, who were promised a title shot by ONE FC chief executive officer Victor Cui following their impressive victories in ONE FC’s Manila meet.

Kelly, a former taxi driver, bodyguard and movie stuntman, kept his slate clean (8-0) after stopping Pulver in one of the highlight fights while Banario, also a Team Lakay mainstay, knocked out another Filipino, Maics Gym’s Andrew Benibe.

Folayang, an Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and another Team Lakay stalwart, pulled off a unanimous win over Japanese Felipe Enomoto and is expecting to get a crack at the vacant lightweight title versus Brazilian Zorobabel Moreira in future ONE FC cards.

“I also want to a title crack myself,” said Belingon.

Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef will return to the ONE FC cage as he battles middleweight king Pancrase Ryo “Rambo” Kawamura while Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki and French Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) champion Arnaud “The Game” Lepont will face off in the main bout of the evening.

Kotestu Boku and Zorobabel Moreira of Brazil, meanwhile, duel for the lightweight crown while Korean Su Chul Kim tangles with another Brazilian Leandro Issa for the bantamweight title.

ONE FC: Rise of Kings will be available on pay-per-view in the US on Oct. 6 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on iN DEMAND, Avail-TVN, DIRECTV and DISH for a suggested retail price of $29.95. 

Fans from around the world can also witness the action online via live streaming at www.onefc.com/livestream. The first two undercard fights are available for viewing free-of-charge and the main card fights will be available for purchase at $9.99. 

Also, this September and through October, fans can also catch the previous two ONE FC events, ONE FC: Destiny of Warrior s and ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, on Video on Demand (VOD) and on regional sports networks in the US.