Kevin "The Silencer" Belingon finally broke his silence on who he wants to face in his return to the ONE Championship Circle, and he has one name in mind.
Though he wants nothing more than to challenge reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes once more, Belingon understands that he has to climb up the ladder again to get that opportunity.
“There are a lot of names in the bantamweight division. Whoever they give me, I’ll take them on,” Belingon said.
“The most important thing is to get back to my winning ways and compete for the title once more. That’s the goal, to get back on top and get the belt.”
The former ONE Bantamweight World Champion is aiming for a showdown against John “Hands of Stone” Lineker in his return bout in a battle between two of the best in the weight class – aside from Fernandes.
Lineker made a smashing debut as he scored a unanimous decision victory over Muin “Tajik” Gafurov at ONE: DAWN OF VALOR last October.
With the Brazilian’s willingness to stand and trade, Belingon believes that this match would not only catapult him back to World Title contention, it would also be good treat for the fans.
“It will be exciting if they give me John Lineker, it will be a very good match,” Belingon said.
“You see how he fights? He has excellent striking, and he’s really good. So if we cross paths, it will be a barnburner for sure.”
Hopeful that this COVID-19 pandemic will be over soon, Belingon sees the match happening in front of his compatriots at ONE INFINITY 1 at the Mall Of Asia Arena on 29 May.
“My target, hopefully, is the May event here in the Philippines. That is what I am looking at,” Belingon said.
“Now, I am focused on the ground game and my wrestling. Of course, I won’t relax on my specialty either – my striking. But then again, reviewing my match with Bibiano, I am really lacking on the ground and wrestling, so that’s what I am looking at right now.”
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