Belingon eyes May 29 return vs Lineker in Manila

Photo from ONE Championship

MANILA, Philippines—Raring to get back inside the cage, Kevin Belingon already has a potential opponent in mind for his next fight.

Belingon, the former ONE world bantamweight champion has set his sights on a dangerous foe in Brazil’s John Lineker.

The 32-year-0ld Belingon (20-7) was once atop the bantamweight division when he beat Bibiano Fernandes to become the undisputed champion in November 2018 but his trilogy against the mighty Brazilian ended in two straight losses.

The Team Lakay stalwart, though, wants to make a splash in his return and a match against Lineker (32-9) is a solid prospect for him.

“It will be exciting if they give me John Lineker. It will be a very good match,” said Belingon in ONE Championship’s official website.

“You see how he fights? He has excellent striking, and he is really good. So if we cross paths, it will be a barn burner, for sure.”

Belingon’s last two fights in the promotion both ended in losses, a disqualification and a submission defeat, against Fernandes while Lineker handled Muin Gafurov via unanimous decision in his debut in October 2019.

Before jumping to ONE Championship, Lineker enjoyed a brilliant career in the UFC, racking up a 12-4 record.

Belingon added that he wants his comeback to happen on May 29 in ONE Infinity 1 at Mall of Asia Arena.

“The most important thing is to get back to my winning ways and compete for the title once more. That’s the goal – to get back on top and get the belt.”