Belingon suits up for August 18 bout
KEVIN Belingon hopes to get another scintillating victory as he eyes another shot at the bantamweight world title when he clashes with Reece McLaren on August 18 in One Championship’s ‘Quest for Greatness’ at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Belingon of the famed Team Lakay is highly regarded one of the country’s most talented martial artists. With a professional record of 15-5, Belingon is known as a fierce competitor with the ability to finish opponents in a variety of methods.
The 29-year old wushu stalwart owns six big knockouts on his resume, and is one of the most feared strikers in the bantamweight division. In his last bout, Belingon stopped Finnish grappling sensation Toni Tauru with a volley of devastating strikes.
The 25-year old McLaren, a FilipinoAustralian is considerd among the fast rsising stars of ONE following his rousing debut in 2015 with a spectacular submission victory over top bantamweight contender Mark Striegl, and then followed up that win with a unanimous decision over highly-regarded prospect Muin Gafurov.
In his last bout, McLaren challenged Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE bantamweight world championship, falling just short of victory by way of split decision.
‘Quest for Greatness’ is set to showcase of Asia’s top martial arts talent top billed by undefeated ONE featherweight world champion Marat Gafurov of Russia putting his world title on the line against top contender Martin Nguyen of Australia.
“It is always an exciting time in Kuala Lumpur whenever our world-class athletes climb atop Asia’s biggest and grandest martial arts stage. Our warriors are eager to put on a show for fans in Kuala Lumpur, and it is our honor to have them perform in this marvelous city,” said Chatri Sityodtong, chairman and CEO of ONE.
Also in the udercard is a lightweight match-up betewwen former title
contender EV Ting and former ONE welterweight world champion Nobutatsu Suzuki.
Agilan Thani will be making his return to the ONE Championship cage following his first shot at a world title opposite reigning ONE welterweight world champion Ben Askren.
Although Thani fell short of victory against the American, he gained a great amount of experience as a result and has emerged as a more seasoned combatant.
The 21-year old is 71 as a professional, with five of his seven victories ending in the first round. All of Thani’s victories have come by exciting finish. The young Malaysian has shown steady improvement in each outing. He is now set to take on Sherif Mohamed.
Mohamed who is the Evolution light heavyweight champion hails from Cairo, Egypt, with an 8-3 record.
He is a well-versed kickboxer and wrestler with all eight of his wins coming by finish. Of his total victories, Sherif owns four submissions and four knockouts, proving his versatility and wellrounded game. Roderick Osis