Belingon destroys undefeated Santacana, Banario KO’d

SINGAPORE – Kevin Belingon lost his last fight against Masakatsu Ueda at the same place, in front of the same crowd just 6 months ago. Tonight, he redeemed himself with a crushing knockout victory over previously unbeaten David Aranda Santacana of Spain.

Santacana, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert, stepped into the cage a perfect 9-0 with 8 of those wins coming by way of submission. To say Santacana was an ace on the ground was an understatement.

Yet Belingon surprisingly had his way with his opponent. Belingon did his best to keep the fight standing up and along the way completely outclassed Santacana on all fronts. Santacana seemed unable to cope with the much faster and much more powerful Belingon.

Belingon used various attacks, mixing it up with spinning back fists and flashy kicks, staying true to his Wushu roots. His dominance in the striking department was evident.

The end came after Belingon landed a slicing right cross slash elbow towards the end of the first round, followed by two vicious left hooks, the second one landing right on Santacana’s temple. Santacana fell face first to the mat and the fight was subsequently stopped by the referee after deeming Santacana unable to recover.

Santacana attempted multiple times to take the fight to the ground which appeared to be his primary gameplan, but Belingon was far too strong to be overpowered.

The impressive win by Belingon puts him back into contention for the Bantamweight title. Perhaps a rematch with his conqueror, Ueda, looms on the horizon.

Right Hand Stops Banario in Three

The highly anticipated rematch between Honorio “The Rock” Banario of Team Lakay and Japanese MMA veteran Koji Oishi ended with the Filipino warrior once again on the wrong end of a brutal knockout which left him senseless before the end of the third round.

Right out of the gates, Banario pressed the action in the first round as Oishi seemed content to play keep away defense for the most part. Banario’s diverse striking kept Oishi at bay for the majority of the round as he appeared to be in control of the fight.

In the second round, Oishi found a groove and started to home in some overhand rights that hit its mark on Banario’s head and open defense. Banario was twice stunned but managed to recover well. It was evident that Oishi had started to time Banario coming in, with each punch just barely missing.

In the third round, Banario was visibly more cautious of Oishi’s striking ability. But in a scene all too familiar for the proud Filipino warrior, another overhand right landed for his Japanese opponent –  this one successfully ending the fight.

Banario dropped to the mat like a sack of potatoes, his head bouncing off the canvas as he lay unconscious. Oishi managed to rain down a couple of hammer fists before the referee stepped in to save Banario from further punishment.

Oishi retained his One FC Featherweight title and proved to fans that his first victory over Banario certainly was no fluke.

Other Results

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang successfully got back on the win column with an impressive beatdown of Vincent Latoel. Folayang used his superior size and strength to punish Latoel in the stand up. More surprisingly, Folayang displayed an improved wrestling game, dominating Latoel on the ground just as much, even managing a smashing takedown as he lifted Latoel up off the canvas and slammed him into the mat.

This version of Folayang seems rejuvenated and it appears he may have rediscovered his mojo. The dominating win over Latoel proved Folayang is far from done.

In an all Filipino matchup, Geje Eustaquio completely outclassed his opponent Eugene Toquero who seemed more concerned about his “Wolverine-inspired” hairdo than actually winning the fight. Eustaquio displayed more well-rounded skills than his opponent. Toquero came into the fight winning his first 4 outings by knockout. – Rappler.com