Belingon masters Nguyen, wrests crown

Folayang, 2 other pinoy mma bets also triumph

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino star Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon put up a dominant performance to convincingly decision Vietnamese-Australian Martin Nguyen and capture the ONE interim bantamweight world title Friday night before delighted home fans at the MOA Arena.

Energized by the roaring crowd, Belingon asserted his striking superiority against the two-division champ and landed crisp left hooks and laser-guided spinning back kicks throughout the five-round contest to earn the nod of all three judges and meet his destiny as the fifth Filipino to win the ONE Championship belt after Honorio Banario and Eduard Folayang, and reigning holders Brandon Vera and Geje Eustaquio.

“I can’t explain this feeling, I’m the happiest athlete tonight,” said the Team Lakay stalwart. “I trained very hard for this fight, just to get this belt. I’m proud to be a champion representing the Philippines.”

Belingon, who foiled Nguyen’s bid to add a third jewel to his lightweight and featherweight belts, lined himself up for a much-awaited showdown with long-time bantam kingpin Bibiano Fernandes of Brazil, who’s recovering from injury.

“My friend Bibiano, I respect him as a champion, but we’re in the same weight class and I’m the top contender so there’s no escaping me. I hope you can recover fast so we can make the fight this year,” said Belingon, who had previously challenged Fernandes for the title in 2016 but conceded a first round loss via submission.

Folayang, meanwhile, achieved redemption on his return to the cage in Manila as he outclassed Russian Aziz Pahrudinov in ONE of the featured bouts in the ONE: Reign of Kings card. The 34-year-old Folayang, whose last appearance on home soil resulted in a shocking KO loss to Nguyen, utilized his thunderous leg kicks to pick the erstwhile unbeaten foe apart and held his ground en route to the win that boosted his bid to regain the lightweight thrONE .

In the co-main event, Brazilian legend Renzo Gracie showed a sampling of his prowess by forcing Japanese great Yuki Kondo to tap out with a wrenching rear naked choke. 

Two other Pinoys in the cards emerged victorious as well with Joshua Pacio submitting Thai Pongsiri Mitsatit and Rene Catalan scoring a UD over Indon Stefer Rahardian to extend his streak to five.