The One Championship bantamweight division has a new master.
After five rounds of back-and-forth action in the One Championship “Heart of the Lion” main event on Friday in Kallang, Singapore, Kevin Belingon emerged with a split decision over Bibiano Fernandes that brought with it the promotion’s undisputed bantamweight crown. The loss was Fernandes’ first since 2010 and snapped his 14-fight winning streak.
The Filipino challenger picked apart Fernandes with spinning back kicks to the liver, while Fernandes answered with his stellar Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. Belingon, however, displayed excellent defense throughout their encounter and managed to escape from various submission attempts.