Kevin Belingon. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Not every fighter has a catchy moniker and an interesting narrative behind it.
Kevin Belingon is one of the few who has both a cool nickname and an even better story to tell about it.
It took just the first fight for Belingon to earn one of the coolest monikers in the business.
“I got the name ‘The Silencer’ after my first mixed martial arts fight,” the Team Lakay star said.
“My opponent was the champion, he was the one holding the belt, and I was the underdog. Most of the fans were on his side. I beat him and it silenced the crowd and my opponent as well.”
Belingon was referring to Richard “The Dancing Devil” Lasprilla, one of the original Filipino MMA fighters back in the day. That bout happened in 2007 when no one knew who Belingon was heading into the fight against Lasprilla.
But that quickly changed after Belingon stunned Lasprilla.
“That’s how I got the moniker, to this day. It’s still the ring name I use,” he said.
He went on to also win his next eight fights to start his MMA career at 9-0 on his way to becoming a ONE bantamweight world champion following a gutsy win over Brazilian legend Bibiano Fernandes last year in ONE: Heart of the Lion.
“I plan to stick with it for a very long time,” said Belingon, who currently owns a 20-5 record. “It witnessed my ups and downs in this sport and we can also say that the ‘The Silencer’ has brought lucky charm to me.”
“The Silencer” hopes to keep making noise when he takes on Fernandes for the third time for the bantamweight belt in ONE: New Era in Tokyo, Japan.