FOR Kevin Belingon, winning the interim ONE Championship world bantamweight title is a testament to the hard work he has put during trainings with Team Lakay and the defeats he has stumbled along the way.
Belingon headlines ONE: King of Reigns at the MOA Arena on July 27 against reigning world featherweight and lightweight champion Martin Nguyen hoping to end the two division champion’s mastery of Team Lakay.
Nguyen defeated then lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang in November 2017 to become the promotion’s two division champion.
Prior to defeating Folayang, Nguyen also edged Edward Kelly in 2015 via a first round stoppage.
But Belingon believes his bout against Nguyen is more than avenging the two losses his teammate suffered.
“This is without a doubt the biggest bout of my career. Everything that I have worked on to this point, all the countless nights spent in the gym, endless rolls with my teammates at Team Lakay, all the wins and the sacrifices, it all comes down to this,” Belingon quipped.
The Ifugao warrior added he took this challenge against Nguyen, despite having a guaranteed shot at Bibiano Fernandes already, because he wanted to prove he never backs down from any challenge no matter how big or small.
“Beating Martin will be huge for my career. He is a two-division world champion at both featherweight and lightweight. If I defeat him, I just beat a two-division world champion. Think about that for a second. I am excited to get into the cage this Friday night and do what I do best,” he added.
Nguyen earlier challenged Fernandes but failed to bring home the strap. However, he has to face one of the best striker in the promotions.
“Mad respect to Kevin Belingon for accepting this challenge. He didn’t have to, but he did. And that just speaks volume of the kind of warrior this guy is. I have complete and total respect for a martial artist with his values and principles. In a huge way, I see a lot of similarities between us. We are both hungry, and we are both determined for victory,” said Nguyen.
Nguyen added he remains optimistic he will reach his goal of becoming a three division world champion. A feat which has not been done before.
“I have worked extremely hard for this matchup and I am set on my goal, which is the ONE Bantamweight World Championship and to become a three-division world champion and make history. Nothing can stop me from achieving that goal. I feel that this is my time,” he added. (Roderick Osis)