Determined: Kevin Belingon

Kevin Belingon (in red shorts) delivers a head kick towards Isaac Tuling's skull where "The Silencer " stopped Tuling during URCC 19 Collision.

ONE FC 3 – War of the Lions was a momentous occasion for a lot of people. It was an event that will be remembered fondly by those who were able to witness it live, those who saw it on Youtube, and by the promotion, the trainers and fighters. Well, at least those who won. Losing is something that doesn’t sit well with highly-competitive fighters and it’s just you handle that energy and urge to get back and redeem yourself inside the ring. Some fighters actually regress after one-sided losses and begin the end of their careers.

Don’t count Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon as one of them.

“The Silencer” has always been known for his aggressive stand-up. If you make a mistake in front of Kevin, he will capitalize on it and surely the next time you fight inside a ring or anywhere, you will never make the same mistake again. You give him a window of opportunity, he will knock you out. His aggressive style is what draws people to watch him but there are times when you must temper aggression for a more patient approach, especially when facing a specialist like Imanari. I literally cringed when I saw Kevin throw a leg kick at a downed Imanari. I thought it was like offering Rousimar Palhares your leg, or offering a bone to a dog.

Well, you’ve all seen what happened. A loss is a loss. What’s killing me though is that in one of this year’s biggest event, my countryman and one of my favourite fighters wasn’t able to showcase what he got. Even if he lost the fight eventually to a sub, I would’ve loved it if the world saw how Kevin Belingon fights. Go search his fights in Youtube and enjoy. If you love action, then you’ll surely love his fights.

Anyways, enough of what I have to say. Let’s hear it straight from Kevin Belingon himself.

Q:  Hi Kevin! What a tough loss against Imanari. Would you say you made a mistake that eventually gave him the submission win?

Kevin: Definitely. I made a mistake by coming in like that. I made that mistake and he caught my leg. Kudos to him, he saw an opening and made the most out of it. He’s a great fighter especially with subs and I tapped. No excuses. I’m now determined to just bounce back and win my next fight.

Q: Were you able to train against subs, especially leg subs knowing that you’re going against Imanari, who is a well-known leg-lock specialist? Even your one-time opponent Justin Cruz has a very painful submission defeat to Imanari.

Kevin: Yes. I really trained hard for this fight. Coming in, I knew that he was very dangerous on the ground I just really wanted to slug it out from the stand-up. Unfortunately he caught my leg in a very tight hold and I wasn’t able to pull out an answer for his attack.

Q: What are your immediate plans for the future? Are you going to fight in the URCC first before going back to ONE FC?

Kevin: All I’m set on doing is to train harder and to improve my ground skills, especially my Jiu-Jitsu. I haven’t been offered anything yet so I don’t know if my next fight will be in the URCC ring or the ONE FC cage.

Q: Kevin, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Any words for your fans in the URCC and ONE FC?

Kevin:  Thank you so much for all the support that you are giving me and God Bless! You will see a better fight from me next time.

 

Special thanks to Mr. Hochi Abaya for lending me the picture of Kevin from URCC 19!!!

Thank you for visiting this blog! Follow this blog for more MMA news in the Philippines and Asia! Feel free to leave your questions, comments and suggestions. Violent reactions are welcome. Add me up on http://facebook.com/alfredgealogo and follow me on twitter (@alfred_gealogo).

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ONE FC 3 – War of the Lions Musings

I don’t think everyone has gotten over the awesome event that ONE FC 3 – War of the Lions was. People are still buzzing over the dominance displayed by Zorobabel Moreira, the epic bout between Ole Laursen and Eduard Folayang, and how about Jeet Toshi vs. Nicole Chua?

Of course, some people gained a lot and some fighters lost some during that epic night. Let’s go through some of the fights and personalities that would be talked about for quite some time. At least up until the next ONE FC event.

Biggest Winner: Zorobabel “Zorro” Moreira

Remember how Enomoto reminded “Zorro” that their match was a MMA bout and a grappling contest? Zorro proved that he isn’t a one-trick pony by using his reach and voluminous kicks to control the fight. Felipe Enomoto was surely no slouch as he brought the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion to the third round. He showed he can hold his own against the Evolve MMA fighter and looked the better striker technically but a kick from Moreira wobbled Enomoto and that setup the armbar that gave “Zorro” the win. There are a lot of people saying that Evolve MMA’s Zorobabel could very well be the 1^st Lightweight Champion of ONE FC.

A fight with Ole Laursen would be interesting and logical.

Disappointed: Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon

Coming into his fight against Masakazu Imanari, Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon enjoyed an undefeated record and was riding a 9-fight winning streak. An early mistake made by the Japanese actually setup the submission. Imanari threw a wayward high kick that caused him to slip and fall to the mat. Belingon immediately thew an ill-advised kick to his downed opponent and that’s when Imanari grabbed a hold of his leg and never let go. It seemed as if Belingon didn’t know how to properly defend the myriad of leg submissions the “Ashikan judan” was attempting and it was only a matter of seconds before he had to tap out to a reverse heel hook. There are just nights that even the best fighters get caught and Kevin got caught by one of the best. I’m betting that “The Silencer” will be upping his training in submission defense.

A match with fellow Filipino Jessie Rafols would be an exciting fight.

War of the Night: Ole “Iron Fist” Laursen vs. Eduard “Landslide” Folayang

In what was a very close and entertaining fight, Ole Laursen took a split decision over fellow Filipino Eduard Folayang. It was a back and forth barn-burner which showcased not only Ole’s strong striking but also his grappling skills and Eduard’s energizer like cardio and never-say-die attitude. The first round was Ole’s, the second round was a swing round and the third was clearly Folayang’s. . It’s one of those fights that no one involved really comes out a loser.  A five-round rematch between these two would be a Godsend gift.

How about Ole Laursen fights Zorobabel and Eduard Folayang fights Enomoto, and then a rematch between Ole and Eduard?

Submission of the Night: Masakazu “Ashikan Judan” Imanari

Don’t voluntarily give Imanari your limbs. Any fighter who goes against the Japanese submission specialist should always remember that. Kevin Belingon forgot for a second and paid the price as Imanari caught his opponents leg from a downed position threw a variety of leg-locks before locking in a reverse heel hook that gave him the win.

A match with either Gustavo Falciroli or Irshaad Sayed would be a great fight.

Heavy Hands of the Night: Eddie “The Magician” Ng

The time it took for him to walk from the dressing room up to the cage was longer than his actual fight. “The Magician” wasted no time in getting down to business and took out Jian Kai Chee in 52 seconds. A heavy right hand started it, followed up by several knees that brought down Chee to the ground. A few seconds of ground and pound and the referee rescued the Malaysian from further punishment.

Give him Vuyisile Colossa. If he passes that test, Laursen, Folayang, Enomoto, Farciroli and Moreira will have a new playmate.

Thank you for visiting this blog! Feel free to leave your questions, comments and suggestions. Violent reactions are welcome. Add me up on http://facebook.com/alfredgealogo and follow me on twitter (@alfred_gealogo).

Don’t forget to visit www.onefc.com and http://urccmma.com for breaking news regarding MMA in the Philippines and Asia.

Folayang and Belingon fall short in ONE FC 3 – War of the Lions

Folayang lands a body kick on Laursen in their fight held in Singapore.

In a war of lions, two of the best homegrown mma fighters to ever come out of the Philippines fell short in their bid to extend their winning streaks stretching back to Martial Combat FC.

Last Saturday, March 31, 2012, at ONE FC 3 – War of the Lions held in Singapore, Team Lakay’s Eduard “Landslide” Folayang and Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon both lost to their rivals dealing Folayang his second professional loss and breaking Belingon’s undefeated record.

In a back to back brawl that saw the audience gasping and getting out of their seats, Eduard “Landslide” Folayang lost a split decision to Ole “Iron Fist” Laursen in what I and a lot of people predicted would be a classic fight.

Both came out swinging in the first round but everyone was surprised with Ole’s display of his much improved grappling skills. He practically took Folayang down at will and even threatened with a Kimura and a Rear Naked Choke. As expected, Ole’s striking was more technical and he would land punches, kicks and knees on Eduard. Although it was a close round, I gave the round slightly to Laursen for takedowns. During the second round, what in my mind doomed the fight for Eduard, aside from his takedowns and combinations, Ole Laursen threw a very stiff jab that knocked down Folayang exposing his back to Laursen for a few moments. Eduard would then throw wicked combinations that would end with either a spinning elbow or a spinning back kick but I guess due to the knockdown, judges gave the round to Laursen. I gave the 2nd round to Folayang. Although he was dropped early in the round, I believe his flurries and combinations were enough to steal it. The third round showcased the big similarity between the Energizer Bunny and Eduard, they just keep going. Eduard fired off so many punches and body kicks in this round that Ole looked ragged and worse for wear. Eduard just threw everything he had and a very game Laursen just stood there and returned with heavy leg kicks. In my eyes, round 3 goes to Folayang by landslide but then he would have to swallow this one as a split decision loss as the majority judges definitely saw it in a different way.

Laursen looked the more complete fighter that night and maybe a match with Zorobabel Moreira or a rematch with Felipe Enomoto would be interesting. It would also be great if his next fight is held in the Philippines so that “Iron Fist” would be better known by his countrymen. Maybe a rematch with Eduard in Manila? Eduard looked good even if defeat and maybe some mat time would be great for the “Landslide”. His boxing has improved but his Jiu-Jitsu needs a bit more polishing. There were a couple of times that Eduard could’ve won it from the ground and they would do well to take advantage of that next time.

In a one-round affair, Masakazu “Ashikan Judan” Imanari defeated Kevin Belingon with a Heel-Hook. Twenty seconds or more into the fight, just as they are circling each other and measuring each other’s range, Imanari threw a head kick that was very far off and resulted in a slip. Just as Imanari rolled onto his back, Kevin attacked a mistakenly threw a roundhouse to the “Ashikan Judan’s” leg which was caught by the Japanese who turned it into a leg-lock. Kevin would defend well for but after Imanari transitions into an inside heel-hook, Belingon had no choice but to tap at the 3:42 mark of the first round. If Kevin is to face another high-level Jiu-Jitsu fighter in the future, he needs to bring his BJJ to a higher level. I could say that he got caught with a leg-lock by the guy who is considered to be either #1 or #2 in the world with regards to leg-locks but the truth is, mma fighters need to be really well-rounded especially at the level where they are fighting.

Eduard Folayang vs. Ole Laursen Fight Video – just click the link below

http://rd3.videos.sapo.pt/play?file=http://rd3.videos.sapo.pt/eKi3KvzBNlBYqngzkSPF/mov/1

Kevin Belingon vs. Masakazu Imanari:

You can watch the whole event here:

My name is Alfred Johannes T. Gealogo, an MMA journalist based in the Philippines. I’m a proud supporter of Filipino Martial Arts and Asian MMA. I’ve been involved in different Martial Arts since the age of six and is currently a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt under Master Alvin Aguilar of Deftac/Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu. For comments, suggestions, questions and violent reactions, add me up at http://facebook.com/alfredgealogo and follow me on twitter (@alfred_gealogo). Also, don’t forget to visit http://urccmma.com and www.onefc.com for breaking news regarding MMA in the Philippines and Asia.