FILIPINO knockout artist Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon wheele…d right back into title contention with a lightning-quick knockout of Australian submission specialist Reece “Lightning” McLaren.
Belingon took out the highly regarded McLaren in just 62 seconds. The two faced off at the center of the cage and Belingon dropped his Australian opponent with a right straight. McLaren fell to the canvas and Belingon rained down chopping strikes on his fallen opponent on the ground to force referee Olivier Coste to step in and halt the contest.
“First of all, I want to thank God for guiding me during the bout and blessing me with the victory. Truly, without Him, I am nothing. He gives me the strength that I need to continue my martial arts career in ONE Championship. Second, I would like to thank my teammates and my coach for not giving up on me, especially when I prepared for this bout against an outstanding athlete like Reece McLaren,” said Belingon.
The Team Lakay veteran tallied his third consecutive win and the second consecutive via knockout. It was actually his seventh knockout win as a professional and puts him right back in title conversation for the ONE Bantamweight World Championship held by Bibiano Fernandes.
“I was surprised that he stood in front of me and tried to test my stand-up skills. We all know that I am comfortable in the stand-up department, so I obliged. If he wanted to strike, it was fine with me since I am a striker. When he was pushing forward, I saw an opening where I could deliver my right straight to his head. I was relaxed when he was coming after me. When he reached in for a left hook, I launched my right hand,” said Belingon.
McLaren is a highly regarded title contender who lost a narrow decision to Fernandes during the title showdown at ONE: Age of Domination December 2, 2016. McLaren was riding the rest of a four-fight win streak—Muin Gafurov, Mark Striegl, Edwin Arana and Jacob Mahony—to gain the right to challenge for the crown.
McLaren is a known grappler and initially surprised Belingon when he chose to stand up and trade at the center of the cage. But Belingon caught him with a power shot dropping him to the canvas. Belingon took full advantage and pounded his foe to submission.
“I saw an opportunity to get the finish when I dropped him with my right hand. He was trying his best to get back up, so I put tremendous amount of pressure by pinning him down while clobbering heavy blows A volley of hard rights got me the finish,” Belingon said.
Belingon’s last loss came during his failed title bid when he lost via submission to Fernandes.
“I am now on a three-bout winning streak. It’s my first time to win three-straight bouts in ONE Championship, and it’s against two former world title contenders and a tough prospect. I really hope that this victory will lead me to a rematch with Bibiano Fernandes. I think I am back in a position to vie for a world title,” said Belingon.
The shockingly quick victory came during the ONE: Quest for Greatness card held at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen shocked the world by stopping Marat “Cobra” Gafurov in their rematch to become the new ONE Featherweight World Champion.
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