Belingon to take on rival Fernandes in ONE Championship return
MANILA, Philippines — After more than two years away from the ONE Championship ring, Kevin Belingon is coming back.
And this time, he will try to finish his story on top with bitter rival Bibiano Fernandes during ONE 171: Qatar in February next year.
Belingon, who lost his previous five matches in ONE, will try to make a triumphant comeback in the fighting promotion at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar on February 20, 2025.
“I’ve waited a long time for my return and my excitement can’t be measured,” Belingon said.
“Rest assured, I have been working on my game in my time away. I’m gonna come out ready and entertain our fans, especially the Filipino fans in Qatar,” he added.
The last time the Lions Nation MMA veteran competed was during the ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee event back in November 2022.
This capped Belingon’s five-match losing streak. But now, the Filipino fighter will try to get back to his winning ways against Fernandes, whom he fought four times in the past.
In that four times, he won just one, but it could have been tied after a controversial disqualification loss back in 2019.
“I have unfinished business with Bibiano. We have history together and I want to end our story with me on top,” he said.
Currently, there are only five matches in the ONE 171 card.
In the co-main event of the evening, Belingon’s Lions Nation MMA teammate Joshua Pacio will defend his strawweight MMA world championship against Jarred Brooks.
The event will be main evented by the bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship between Jonathan Haggerty and Wei Rui.
Turkiye’s Dagi Arslanaliev and Roberto Soldic will also clash in a welterweight MMA bout, while Martin Nguyen will take on Shamil Gasanov in a featherweight MMA war.
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