Filipino MMA fighter Kevin Belingon guns for the ONE Bantamweight World title of Bibiano Fernandes at ONE: Heart of a Lion on November 9 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The 30-year-old Belingon of Team Lakay hails from Kiangan, Ifugao province. He made his professional cage debut in 2007, winning his first nine bouts while capturing a local flyweight title.
After joining ONE Championship in 2012, Belingon put together a series of tremendous performances, including several highlight-reel finishes, to earn a shot at ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes in early 2016.
Although Belingon failed to capture the title, he has since been on a warpath back to world title contention, putting together a sensational win streak which includes huge knockout wins over several former world title challengers. In his most recent outing, Belingon scored one of the biggest wins of his career, defeating two-division ONE World Champion Martin Nguyen.
The 38-year-old Fernandes of Brazil is the reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion, and widely considered one of the best martial artists in the world bar none.
He made his ONE Championship debut back in 2012 and captured the bantamweight world title in 2013. Since then, Fernandes has remained unbeaten inside the ONE Championship cage, showcasing tremendous striking and grappling ability and an unwavering will to win.
In his most recent bout, Fernandes defeated two-division titleholder Martin Nguyen by split decision in a World Champion vs. World Champion super-bout. In his next title defense, Fernandes is set to defend his championship against Kevin Belingon in a highly-anticipated rematch.
Meanwhile, ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan will defend her title against ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee in the main event of the card.
Jing Nan began her career competing in professional boxing, and she was originally inspired to pick up the sport by her father, who imparted in her values of courage and integrity.
She bagged a gold medal at the prestigious China Open Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in 2017. Since winning the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship this past January, the Beijing, China native has made two successful title defenses.
Lee is considered one of ONE Championship’s most outstanding athletes. The Singaporean captured the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship with an awe-inspiring victory over Mei Yamaguchi in May 2016, and she has since defended the title successfully on multiple occasions.
Lee’s beautiful combination of elite striking and grappling has proven to be a potent formula for success, as she has remained undefeated in her career.
In her most recent bout, she beat Yamaguchi once again, showcasing her wide array of skills en route to a unanimous decision victory. Lee is now set to challenge Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship.”‹
