FORMER ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon is anxiously waiting for his next fight in The Home of Martial Arts, and his eyes lit up when asked about potentially facing Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu.
Kevin Belingon vs Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in the works?
Baatarkhuu is the latest sensation in ONE Championship’s bantamweight MMA division, having won three straight fights in the most impressive fashion.
Making this fight closer to home for “The Silencer” is the fact that the Mongolian has defeated three Filipinos, including two of Belingon’s former teammates in Adonis Sevilleno and Jhanlo Mark Sangiao.
Baatarkhuu recently submitted Sangiao at ONE Fight Night 13 this past weekend, ending the Team Lakay stud’s win streak and proving he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Now he has a former ONE World Champion’s attention.
“Of course! Of course! I want to face him. We all know he’s a very strong wrestler and grappler, that’s his strength. I feel like I will have the upper hand in striking, but as I’ve said, I’ve been working hard on my grappling and BJJ,” Belingon said.
“I think this will be a great fight for me, should it happen. It would truly test my ground game and striking as well.”
The 35-year-old tuned in for Baatarkhuu’s last fight, and he couldn’t have been more impressed by his durability.
Belingon was amazed at how the Mongolian survived Sangiao’s early onslaught before getting the submission win in the second round.
“It was a great fight. Enkh-Orgil proved that he’s tough and won’t go away easily. We’ve seen Jhanlo tag him with solid hits, floored him, and he quickly got back up,” he said.
“I believe he has the warrior spirit in him, and in the second round he got Jhanlo on the ground and submitted him, but both men performed really well.”
Belingon, however, is confident that he won’t get caught the same way Sangiao did if he squares off with the Mongolian.
The pride of Kiangan, Ifugao, believes that should he hit Baatarkhuu with solid shots, he’s going down for good.
“I think he’ll feel my power. I saw in his fight against Jhanlo. He was really feeling his strikes. He even got cut and knocked down, so I think I can knock him out if I face him,” he said.
“Of course, at the end of the day, it all boils down to how I prepare for it. We’ve seen how tough he is. He’s a warrior, and I have to prepare for him.”
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