ONE champ Fernandes willing to trade strikes with Belingon

MANILA, Philippines – Even though Kevin Belingon has the upper hand in the striking department, ONE Championship bantamweight titleholder Bibiano Fernandes has no qualms when it comes to trading kicks and punches with the Filipino fighter.

Fernandes is slated to defend his gold-plated strap against Belingon in the main event of the promotion’s “Dynasty of Champions” card, which takes place at He Long Stadium in Changsha, China on Saturday, January 23.

Despite coming into the scheduled 5-round championship contest as the heavy favorite, many cageside observers believe that a tough test awaits Fernandes in the stand-up exchanges due to his opponent’s Wushu Sanshou pedigree. 

Inside the ONE Championship cage, Belingon owns 3 devastating finishes, including a one-punch knockout of David Aranda Santacana in December 2013. 

“[He is] very strong and very explosive. He’s young and for sure wants to win,” Fernandes said of Belingon. 

The 35-year-old Brazilian asserted that he has a fair share of knowledge in terms of delivering blows from a toe-to-toe stance.

“My striking is not that bad. My striking is coming. It’s coming,” he said. 

Fernandes is known to be a world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner as 6 of his 18 wins came by way of submission, but he showcased his striking arsenal in July 2015 by turning the lights off on Finland’s Toni Tauru. 

“I don’t give a lot of power. It was all in the timing. At the right time, I got it,” Fernandes said about his match-up with Tauru. 

Fernandes stressed that he is willing to stand and bang with Belingon, claiming that he has already figured out his foe’s fighting style. 

“He comes with the right kick on the outside and left kick inside. And he comes with the big overhand,” he stated. “If you want to fight stand up, I’ll fight standing up with you. I don’t fear the fight in the stand-up.”

With a 53% takedown accuracy according to FightMetric’s statistics, Fernandes is confident that he will be able to drag Belingon to the mat with ease.

“His Jiu-Jitsu is no good. Wrestling is no good. He can defend, yes. But he’s a Wushu guy. I have to be careful because he has the power, but I have BJJ,” he explained. 

Fernandes makes sure that the title tilt will live up to its hype and promises that he will push the action from bell to bell. 

“I push the fight. If he won’t fight, I’ll make him fight. It’s always the same for everybody,” he ended. – Rappler.com