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| Kevin Belingon unified the One bantamweight belts. |
By Adrian Murilla
MANILA--Kevin "The Silencer" Belingon defeated erstwhile champ Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes via split decision to become the new ONE bantamweight champion at ONE: Heart of the Lion, Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Belingon survived low blows and early takedowns from Fernandes as he connected better strikes in Round 1.
Belingon got rocked and taken down early in Round 2, but successfully defended Fernandes' takedown attempts, got up once more and landed a strong body kick on Fernandes. Belingon survived two more submission scares and ended the round on top, raining down some vicious ground-and-pound action.
Action slowed down a bit in Round 3, but Belingon landed more and better shots. Fernandes got a takedown and landed in full mount, but Belingon just got saved by the bell.
Fernandes got another takedown and had some side control in the fourth round, but Belingon had an incredible escape on the ground, exploded back to his feet, and even stunned the former champ with a nasty right hand to end the round.
Belingon became more active in the final round as Fernandes looked gassed in the end.
Belingon got a redemption of his loss in their first meeting and stretched his winning streak to seven. He also became the third active undisputed ONE World Champion from Team Lakay.
Fernandes, dubbed as the most dominant champion in ONE history, saw his amazing 14-match unbeaten streak and eight-year reign as ONE's bantamweight king coming to an end.
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