Filipino fighter Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon is seeking a statement-making victory as he is set to face Toni “Dynamite” Tauru on the undercard of ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY in Manila, Philippines on 21 April.
The 28-year-old Baguio City native has had his fair share of highs and lows inside the ONE Championship cage since making his promotional debut five years ago, but he wants nothing short of leaving a lasting impression.
Belingon, a Wushu Sanshou practitioner who prefers to clobber a straight right-left hook combination and throw hard kicks at all levels but particularly to the legs, notched a first-round stoppage of Russia’s Yusup Saadulaev in October 2012.
“The Silencer” attained a highlight-reel knockout of David Aranda Santacana in December 2013 when he uncorked a thunderous left hook that brought the Spaniard’s first ONE Championship outing to a dramatic and decisive close.
Belingon stressed that if the opportunity to score a finish presents itself against Tauru, he will not think twice to grab it.
“Of course, I want that finish. I am always looking for that. If there’s an opening to get the knockout or submission, I will go for that in a split second,” he said.
In his last bout, Belingon shied away from his relentless fighting style and resorted to a more tactical approach to get a unanimous decision win over Muin Gafurov last October.
“I wanted to finish Gafurov, but that’s not how the fight went. I needed another way to defeat him,” he shared.
From bell to bell, the one-time ONE Championship bantamweight title challenger banked on his lashing leg kicks and takedown defense to keep Gafurov at bay.
Belingon continued to dictate the pace of the match in the third and final frame, where he maintained his distance by consistently telegraphing his leg kicks while making Gafurov hesitate to cut the gap with his signature left hook.
Although Belingon’s method of defeating Gafurov was starkly different from his usual fighting style, he plans to win his fans over again as the 5-foot-5 Team Lakay standout is known for his highlight-reel finishes.
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About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.
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