ONE chief defends Belingon, Fernandes after controversial bout: ‘They would never cheat to win’

MANILA, Philippines—The title fight between Kevin Belingon and Bibiano Fernandes in ONE: A New Era took an ugly turn after the Filipino was disqualified for multiple hits to the back of the Brazilian’s head last Sunday in Tokyo.

Fernandes reclaimed the ONE World featherweight championship he lost to Belingon in November of 2018 but with such a controversial end, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong ordered for an immediate rematch.

Sityodtong also went to Facebook to defend his fighters after a backlash against both Fernandes and Belingon.

Sityodtong said that based on his review, both Belingon and Fernandes did not intentionally hit each other at the back of their heads.

“In their last bout that ended via DQ, both Bibi and Kevin landed illegal elbows to the back of the head in different rounds, these things can happen sometimes in the heat of battle,” said Sityodtong who’s also a mixed martial artist.

“For me, I don’t believe either warrior did it with intentional malice. I reviewed all footage of both sides landing illegal elbows, and it was clear that both men were moving around at speed as blows landed.”

Sityodtong said he believes both Belingon and Fernandes would never resort to cheating to get advantage in the fight.

Referee Olivier Coste called a stop to the fight 1:21 into the second round awarding the DQ win to Fernandes.

“Both Kevin and Bibi are true martial artists in every sense of the word, they both would never cheat to win,” said Sityodtong. “They are honest warriors, I can also assure you that Bibi is not someone who would game the system to win a World title.”

“He [Fernandes] has always earned everything in his life through hard work and dedication. In fact, Bibi did not want the title after the DQ. He wants to win the title the right way. Bibi is not someone who wants to get something for free or on a technicality.”