A brief history of Kevin Belingon's career before epic trilogy with Bibiano Fernandes

TOKYO - In the short history of mixed martial arts, the world saw some of the greatest rivalries the sport has to offer; Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, happen to be just a few names that would come to mind when the thought of great battles are discussed among hardcore fight fans.

ONE Championship has had its fair share of great rivalries to tell since its emergence in the Asian scene in 2011. Throughout the years, Asia's most dominant MMA promotion delivered some of the most memorable competition in recent memory just like the epic trilogy between Adriano Moraes and Geje Eustaquio of Team Lakay.

On the evening of March 31 in the co-main event of ONE: A New Era at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, another storied rivalry will reach its epic conclusion when ONE bantamweight world champion Kevin Belingon defends his title against a familiar foe in Bibiano Fernandes.

KEVIN BELINGON'S ENTRY TO PRO MMA

The 31-year-old from Kiangan, Ifugao Province made his entry in the world of mixed martial arts in 2007. He started in the local circuit, and was thrown into competition against a pioneer in Richard Lasprilla in his professional debut. Against all odds, Belingon passed his acid test with flying colors as he defeated his fellow Filipino by way of majority decision.

Blessed with natural athleticism, explosiveness, and power on both hands and feet, Belingon proved too much to handle for the local MMA scene as he blitzed through competition fight after fight moving his record to 9-0.

His weaknesses and lack of ground game did not become apparent until he signed and competed at ONE Championship. It merely took Masakazu Imanari 78 seconds to submit Belingon in 2012. His first defeat was followed by another loss by unanimous decision at the hands of Soo Chul Kim just five months later.

Belingon, who seemed unbeatable early in his career, lost his aura of invincibility just two fights after signing with ONE Championship.

BELINGON'S FIRST ATTEMPT AT A WORLD TITLE

Despite the flaws in his game, Belingon always managed to please the crowd with the help of his striking. Little by little, Belingon showed that he is capable of improving in each bout as he went 3-2 in ONE Championship from 2012 to 2014.

The start of what would be an epic rivalry between him and Fernandes kicked-off in the main event of ONE: Dynasty of Champions in January 2016 where the Filipino challenged for the ONE Bantamweight World Title.

Fernandes was considered as one of the best MMA fighters in the world during that period, and was unbeaten in ONE Championship since 2014. A jiu-jitsu black belt who happens to be great on his feet with his boxing, Fernandes also held the DREAM bantamweight and featherweight titles in early in his career.

He proved to be levels apart against Belingon three years ago, as he needed just under a round to dispose the Filipino and successfully defend his then world title by first-round submission.

BELINGON'S RISE BACK TO THE TOP

Belingon mourned his failed world title bid for a time being, but he quickly went back to work to resharpen his tools and improve the flaws and weakness in his game. He specifically focused on his grappling, and would travel to Manila to train under the tutelage of Filipino jiu-jitsu black belt John Baylon.

His first trip back to the cage since that fateful night was no easy task. He had to lock horns with striker-wrestler Muin Gafurov in October 2016. Seemingly more patient and now with better takedown defense, Belingon showcased a clinical approach in outstriking his foe en route to a unanimous decision.

His growth became more apparent as Belingon, who previously struggled against grapplers, soundly defeated his next four foes namely Toni Tauru, Reece McLaren, Kevin Chung, and Andrew Leone.

And just when the world thought that Belingon has earned another crack at Fernandes' title he still had to go through another bout for the vacant interim bantamweight title against former two-division champion Martin Nguyen in July last year.

It was a dominant performance by Belingon, as he outclassed Nguyen for 25 minutes to capture the interim title in front of his adoring fans. Simply put, there was no denying him of another crack at the ONE bantamweight world title at that point.

BELINGON VS. FERNANDES 2

The highly-awaited rematch between the pair took place in the main event of ONE: Heart of the Lion last November. Fernandes, who refused to acknowledge Belingon's improvements before the bout, had to learn the hard way that the Filipino is no longer the same one-dimensional fighter he used to be.

It was a bout marred with takedowns, submission attempts, and a knockdown which displayed that both athletes now stand shoulder to shoulder in terms of level a couple of years since their first meeting. Both felt they won the match after the final bell, but it was Belingon who had his hand raised by after five five-minute rounds.

Finally, Kevin Belingon is now the undisputed ONE bantamweight world champion.

THE TRILOGY

ONE Championship vowed to host its biggest event show to date in its first visit in The Land of The Rising Sun; and it surely did not disappoint when they added Kevin Belingon versus Bibiano Fernandes in the co-main event.

The upcoming trilogy between the two old rivals will be for all the marbles, with the winner most likely to be considered as the most dominant world champion in ONE Championship history.

A victory for Belingon in Japan would be far from a fairy tale ending, because he still has a long career ahead of him. A win would however cement his legacy and his long hard road to glory would finally pay off, and the seemingnly insurmountable task would begin on the night evening of 31 March 31. — BAP, GMA News