WALANG tigil at puspusan ang paghahanda ni hard-hitting Filipino dynamo Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon para sa ikalawang pagkakataon na makaharap su reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes.

Magtutuos ang dalawa sa co-main event ng ONE: HEART OF THE LION sa Nobyembre 9 sa Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Nabigo ang 30-anyos na miyembro ng pamosong Team Lakay ng Baguio City sa unang pagkakataon na maagaw ang titulo kay Fernandes noong Enero 2016 matapos siyang talunin via Kimura lock.

Mula sa naturang kabiguan, bumangon si Belingon at naitala ang matikas na anim na sunod na panalo laban sa dekalidad na mga karibal.

Sa kanyang huling laban, ginapi ni Belingon si two-division champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen para masungkit ang ONE Interim Bantamweight Title.

Ngunit, kumpara kay Nguyen, higit na mapanganib na fighter si Fernandes kung kaya’t walang sinayang na sandali ang Team Lakay upang mabigyan ng sapat na kahandaan si Belingon.

“Training is going really well. I have the entire team with me on this as I work on my wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu. What we do is go down from the mountains to train with Coach John Baylon. We do the basics, gather what we can use in actual bouts, and then go back to Baguio to do it all over again. We trim down what can be used for our contests and what not,” pahayag ni Belingon.

“It’s so hard to roll with Coach John. He’s difficult to control, and his technique is on another level. Despite his age, he’s very strong and is very flexible. We, at Team Lakay, would usually get submitted by Coach John. Other than that, Eduard Folayang has also brought in new techniques he learned from his training camp in the US,” aniya.

Kabilang sa coach ni Belingon si dating ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang na nagbibigay nang tamang diskarte sa ground para matuldukan ang paghahari ni Fernandes sa 65.8-kilogram weight class.

“We focus on No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu and its practical uses in mixed martial arts. The American approach to grappling is a bit different. It is about going to a dominant position and not forcing to secure a submission. What I learned is to get to a dominant position and then score from there,” sambit ni Folayang.

“I think we have a good grappling base in Wushu. That is a huge factor because in Wushu. you do takedowns with a pair of gloves. Another factor is we now have the confidence that even if we go to the ground, we do not worry about getting easily submitted,” aniya.

Umasa naman si Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao na ibang Belingon ang makikita ng sambayanan sa ikalawang pagsagupa kay Fernandes.

“We all know that Bibiano is very good on the ground. We are preparing for that, and we are looking for high-level training partners that Kevin can roll with. Our base is Wushu, which has takedowns and striking, but we lack in grappling,” aniya.