Eric Kelly Loses To Kwon Won Il Of South Korea Via First-Round KO

Eric Kelly, one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts in the Cordilleras, if not in the Philippines, had another bad night when he had his lights shut out at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City in the under-card of One Championship: Roots of Honor. He succumbed to the punching power of Kwon Won Il, a lanky South Korean who took the fight on short notice. Kelly was supposed to lock horns with Kai Tang of China but the latter pulled out of the card. Reason for the shift hasn't been disclosed by the promotion.

The bout started normally with each fighter trying to read each other's movements. The beginning of the end came when a straight right hand from Kwon landed flush on Kelly's jaw and put him on the mat. A few hammer fists later, the referee stepped in to end the bout.

Kwon Won Il was vacationing in Manila when he was called to be Kelly's opponent. He last fought for One Championship in February in Singapore. He was submitted by Masakazu Imanari, the legendary Japanese fighter.

This is Kelly's sixth loss in a row. All losses came by either knockout or submission prompting fans to suggest that maybe it's time for him to hang up the gloves. Whatever route he chooses, he will always remain as one of those who paved the way for Cordilleran and Philippine MMA. With a professional career that started in 2009, Kelly currently holds a record of 12 wins and 7 losses. He had wins over Mitch Chilson, Jens Pulver, and Rob Lisita.

Team Lakay Goes 3 For 3 In One Championship: Reign Of Kings

Three mixed martial artists fighting under the Team Lakay banner brought home the bacon in their respective bouts last night (July 27) at a One Championship event dubbed Reign of Kings. In front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Joshua Pacio, Eduard Folayang, and Kevin Belingon dispatched their opponents with patience and precision. When the dust settled, two of them (Pacio and Folayang) are a step closer to challenging for the belt in their respective divisions. One of them (Belingon) had the glittering One Championship interim bantamweight strap wrapped around his waist. Twas a perfect night for the highland warriors.

Pacio, the first Team Lakay fighter to enter the cage that night, fought like he needed to catch an early bus to get back home. He finished the previously undefeated Pongsiri Mitsatit in the very first round of a scheduled three-rounder. An ill-timed kick by the Thai prospect gave Pacio the opportunity to take the fight to the ground. Pacio worked his way to full mount and unleashed a flurry of ground and pound. Mitsatit made his second mistake in the fight by giving up his back. Pacio saw an opportunity, secured a reverse arm lock, and it was all over.

With three straight wins, Pacio has made it clear that he’s ready to take another crack at Yoshitaka Naito, the Japanese veteran who currently holds the One Championship strawweight belt. Pacio first challenged Naito for the title back in October of 2016. He got submitted in the third round.

Folayang emerged victorious with a unanimous decision win over Aziz Pahrudinov, an undefeated fighter who was making his promotional debut in One Championship. It was a very close fight and each fighter had his moments. It boils down to which particular attack gets more merit. Folayang’s leg kicks or Pahrudinov’s takedowns. In the end, Folayang earned the nods of the judges. This is Folayang’s second win after losing the lightweight belt to Martin Nguyen last year.

In the main event, Belingon finally struck gold when he engaged Martin Nguyen in a technical fight. Belingon breezed through the rounds with ease. He was never put in any danger. He had answers to all of Nguyen’s attacks even in the later rounds when a clearly frustrated Nguyen went desperately for takedowns. Belingon stuffed the takedown attempts and delivered his own brand of violence whenever Nguyen got close enough. Belingon mixed it up with his signature kicks, improved boxing, and a takedown defense that seems to get better every fight.

With the victory, Belingon was crowned as the interim One Championship bantamweight champion. He still has one hurdle to go through before he can be proclaimed as the best in the division. And that’s Bibiano Fernandez. Fernandez has been sidelined due to an injury. Thus explains the interim belt awarded to Belingon. If the two combatants ever face again, it would be a rematch. Belingon first challenged Fernandez for the title back in January of 2016. He was submitted by the Brazilian in the first round.

The Belingon-Nguyen bout was only for the interim bantamweight title. This means, Nguyen still remains as the lightweight and featherweight champion.

Image credit: One Championship

Full One Championship: Reign of Kings results:
1. Kevin Belingon vs. Martin Nguyen – Belingon by unanimous decision
2. Shinya Aoki vs. Shannon Wiratchai – Aoki via technical knockout
3. Renzo Gracie vs. Yuki Kondo – Gracie via submission
4. Eduard Folayang vs. Aziz Pahrudinov – Folayang via unanimous decision
5. Garry Tonon vs. Rahul K. Raju – Tonon by submission
6. Joshua Pacio vs. Pongsiri Mitsatit – Pacio by submission
7. Rene Catalan vs. Stefer Rahardian – Catalan via unanimous decision
8. Xie Bin vs. Sor Sey – Bin via submission

Kevin Belingon Of Team Lakay To Challenge Bibiano Fernandez For ONE Championship's Bantamweight Title

If things go according to plan, a fighter from Team Lakay will be holding a championship belt before this month ends. But achieving such a feat won't be a walk in the park. Kevin Belingon, one of the most recognizable fighters in Team Lakay's roster, is set to lock horns with Bibiano Fernandez of Brazil on January 23 at the Helong Stadium in Changsha, Hunan, China. The two bantamweights will be headlining the event dubbed ONE Championship: Dynasty of Champions.

At stake will be the Brazilian's championship strap which he won in 2013 and successfully defended four times against top contenders. Fernandez is a complete fighter who can be comfortable whether a fight remains standing or goes to the ground. In 21 professional fights, Fernandez has lost only thrice, two of which came very early in his career. He doesn't have much of a punching power - only two of his eighteen wins were via knockouts - but he's very creative inside the cage.

Without a doubt, Belingon can punch much harder than Fernandez. His three knockout wins in the ONE Championship are among the best that the young promotional company has ever seen. Needless to say, Belingon's best chance in overcoming the champion is to keep the fight standing and hope that one of his powerful kicks and punches makes its mark and puts the Brazilian to sleep.

Belingon will surely fly into China as a huge underdog. This shouldn't come as a surprise. He is the challenger and his stint inside ONE Championship has been unstable at best. He fought eight times under the promotion. He won four and lost the rest. Fernandez, on the other hand, fought six times in the promotion. He won them all.

Fernandez also has experience on his side. He has 21 professional fights compared to Belingon's 17. Fernandez and Belingon share four common previous opponents in ONE Championship - Koetsu Okazaki, Soo Chul Kim, Masakatsu Ueda, and Dae Hwan Kim. Fernandez has defeated all four fighters while Belingon has defeated only one. He lost to the other three. MMA math isn't always accurate but you can gauge the difference between the two fighters' skill set by looking into how they fared in common opponents.

The complete fight card for ONE Championship: Dynasty of Champions is as follows:
8. Bibiano Fernandez vs Kevin Belingon
7. Li Kai Wen vs Yang Sen
6. Muin Gafurov vs Toni Tauru
5. Asuka Mikami vs Roy Doliguez
4. Ming Yen Sung vs Su Noto
3. Tang Da Fen vs Zhou Biao
2. Wu Ting Shen vs Ma Hao Bin
1. Bu Hou You Xia vs Cai Chang Bo