Team Lakay's Kevin Belingon lost his ONE World Bantamweight crown after he was disqualified during his match with former champion Bibiano Fernandes at the ONE: A New Era Sunday at the iconic Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
Belingon and Fernades grappled on the floor in the third round, with the Filipino connecting with a few elbows to the back of the head of the Brazilian.
Fernandes winced in pain, forcing the referee to initially slap the champ with a yellow card.
Fernandes' continued protestations had the referee elevating the penalty to a red card, thereby disqualifying Belingon and stripping him off his ONE crown.
It was the third match between the two, with Fernandes winning the first, before Belingon bounced back with a split decision win in November in Singapore last year.
Belingon's teammate, Former ONE Flyweight World Title contender Danny "The King" Kingad on the other hand, pulled off a unanimous-decision win in his ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix match-up with Pancrase Flyweight World Champion Senzo Ikeda.
With the win, Kingad punched a ticket to the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix Semifinals.
"Danny has really worked hard for this. You can see it in training. His conditioning is top-notch,” said Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao.