Belingon sees Eduard Folayang winning against Shinya Aoki

SINGAPORE – Former bantamweight title contender Kevin Belingon believes that Eduard Folayang has what it takes to be the next homegrown Filipino fighter to win a world championship in mixed martial arts (MMA).

Folayang is set to challenge Shinya Aoki for the ONE Championship lightweight belt in the main event of the organization’s “Defending Honor” card, which takes place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on Friday, November 11.

Although Aoki has been touted as the favorite to win in the 5-round championship clash due to his unorthodox fighting style and 46-fight professional MMA experience, Belingon stressed that his Team Lakay comrade should not be overlooked.

Belingon, who is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Tajik standout Muin Gafurov in October, is confident that Folayang will have his hand raised against Aoki.

“I believe he can win his fight. I was able to see his dedication in training. He waited for this opportunity for 5 years. He is not going to waste this opportunity. Kuya Eduard is in the best shape of his life,” he told Rappler.

(READ: How Eduard Folayang can beat ONE FC champ Shinya Aoki)

According to Belingon, Folayang’s best chance of winning is to force a submission specialist like Aoki to stand and bang with him.

Belingon expounded that if Folayang will be able to dictate the pace of the bout in the striking department, he could score a knockout victory.

“By forcing Shinya to stand up and exchange strikes, Kuya Eduard can knock him out. That is his best chance to win and capture the belt,” he stated.

Folayang has not been able to finish an opponent since January 2012 when he forced Wadson Teixeira to wave the white flag in just 56 seconds with elbow shots under the Universal Reality Combat Championship banner. 

The 32-year-old Baguio City native owns 5 knockout wins and two submission triumphs in his 21-fight record, but since his rancorous beating of Teixeira, he went into winning 5 of his last 9 bouts via decision.

With Folayang showing his rejuvenation in his previous two matches this year, Belingon asserted that the proud Japanese champion should never underestimate his teammate’s power and speed. 

“Kuya Eduard possesses tremendous power and igniting speed. If he catches Aoki with a punch, Aoki will definitely go to sleep,” he said. – Rappler.com