Champ Belingon, Brazilian Fernandes set for tie-breaking showdown in Tokyo card
Kevin Belingon has been patiently waiting on who will be his next assignment for the new year.
The Kiangan native got his answer on Sunday when ONE Championship’s top honcho, Chatri Sityodtong, bared that he is figuring in a trilogy.
It looks like it’s time to tie up some loose ends.
The Team Lakay bantamweight world champion is set to face Bibiano Fernandes anew when the promotion mounts its maiden card in Tokyo this March.
“It’s an opportunity for me to prove that I am the rightful champion,” Belingon told the Inquirer. “I’m very excited to face Bibi once again.”
“Without a doubt, it will be another epic war with big fireworks for the final chapter between two of the world’s greatest martial artists,” Sityodtong wrote on a Facebook post.
Belingon dethroned the grappling specialist via split decision in Singapore last November, making him the third Filipino champion in the promotion out of the fight stable mentored by wushu legend Mark Sangiao.
Fernandes, though, was far from convinced by the result—and has been very vocal about it.
Belingon and Fernandes first met in 2016, where Fernandes forced the Filipino to submit with a kimura lock in the opening round.
Belingon admitted that recent title losses by teammates Joshua Pacio and Geje Eustaquio weighed heavily on his shoulders, but said that he was carrying a positive mind-set.
“There’s a bit of pressure but I am positive that I’ll win the fight,” Belingon said.
