2 Pinoys hurdle ONE FC rivals, but Banario falls

MANILA, Philippines - Kevin Belingon and Eduard Folayang beat their respective rivals to make up for the devastating defeat of compatriot Honorio Banario to Japanese Koji Oishi in the ONE Fighting Championship at the MOA Arena in Pasay City Friday night.

Belingon lived up to his monicker as “The Silencer” after he overpowered a previously undefeated David Santacana of Spain with a first round stoppage to atone for his heartbreaking loss to Japanese Masakatsu Ueda last May.

Folayang also fashioned out an impressive bounce back victory over Dutch Vincent Latoel – a unanimous decision in their bantamweight showdown.

But Banario was knocked out cold with 1.43 minutes into the third round in their five-round, featherweight title rematch with Oishi, who also stopped the Filipino fighter also at the MOA Arena last May.

Flyweight Geje Eustaquio scored a unanimous decision win over Eugene Toquero in their lightweight duel.

Banario’s loss thus left Phl mixed martial arts without a Filipino champion in the Singapore-based fight outfit.