Belingon KOs foe to end slump in ONE FC

KEVIN Belingon is an inch closer to a crack at the ONE FC bantamweight crown after moving up the ladder with a victory in the bantamweight grand prix last Saturday night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Belingon ended a two-fight losing slump in the ONE FC with an impressive first-round technical knockout over Russian Yusup Saadulaev.

The 24-year-old Belingon stopped Saadulaev in 3:18 of the first with some vicious punches to head.

Belingon, the current URCC flyweight champion, won his first bout in the ONE FC and improved to 10-2, while Saadulaev fell to 9-2.

Also moving on to the next round of the bantamweight tournament are former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver (27-17-1) and Japanese Masakatsu Ueda (16-2) who also won in the same event.

The 37-year-old Pulver pulled off a unanimous decision win over Chinese Zhao Ya Fei (1-1), while Ueda also scored a unanimous decision over Min Jung Song (3-5).

In the main event, Japanese superstar Shinya Aoki (36-6) had a successful ONE FC debut with a submission victory over Arnaud Lepont (9-2). The 29-year-old submission specialist caught Lepont with a triangle choke in the 1:25 mark of the opening round.

Kotetsu Boku (20-7-2) and Soo Chul Kim (7-4) were crowned as inaugural ONE FC champions after winning their title fights.