Kevin Belingon. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Kevin Belingon delivered a dominating performance, decimating Andrew Leone in the main event of ONE: Heroes of Honor Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Igorot contender wasted no time going for the kill, bombarding his American opponent with a barrage of strikes after the opening bell.
Though Leone was able to squeak in a spinning elbow, Belingon shook off the hit and took him down, leaving his opponent a bloody mess with his lethal flurry of elbows and knees that needed the referee to momentarily halt the action.
The 30-year-old Team Lakay stalwart continued to pummel Leone after the break and in the succeeding rounds, with the coup de grace being a spinning side kick that sent the American to the corner which led to the ground and pound strikes that ended the match at the 1:27 mark of the second round.
“I saw him stepping back. When I saw the opportunity, I took it,” said Belingon.
With the win, he notched his fifth straight win to improve to 18-5.
More importantly, it sent a strong statement that he’s ready to get another crack at ONE Bantamweight Champion Bibiano Fernandez. He failed in his first challenge back in January 2016.
But Belingon would rather let the powers-that-be decide his future match.
“I’m just waiting for the decision of ONE. I’ll take whatever they give me,” he said.
Leone, meanwhile, fell to an 8-4 record with this second straight defeat.