Behind the scenes at Kevin Belingon’s ONE FC victory
It's five minutes after eleven in the evening on Friday, December 6, 2013. In the bowels of the SM Mall of Asia, Kevin Belingon is waiting for his Bantamweight bout against Spaniard David Aranda in ONE FC: Moment of Truth. It's the co-main event of the evening.
His coaches, Team Lakay's Mark Sangiao and Iranian wrestling mentor Ali Hyderabadi, stand beside him as Belingon shadow boxes while wearing a red Team Lakay jersey studded with sponsors logos.
He is shod in a rather curious choice of footwear: copper and silver colored running shoes.
Belingon is a picture of focus, his eyes gazing forward as he pumps the air with his chiseled arms. Dangling from his neck appears to be an ethnic-themed necklace. Belingon, from Kiangan, Ifugao, is certainly proud of his Igorot heritage.
Moments later Belingon emerges from the curtains to the deafening roar of the thousands of Filipinos packed in the Arena. On the TV monitor the coverage gives the skinny on Belingon, and the supers read “Lightning Fast Striking.”
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Aranda awaits, and he looks menacing with tattoos darkening his right arm.
Soon the fight begins, and the arena seems to throb with excitement. The Spaniard sports a 9-0-0 slate with eight wins via submission. Belingon is 12-3 as the fight starts.
It's cagey at the start, with Belingon attempting a few spinning kicks that don't hit the target. And then, with about 2:45 gone in the first round, there's a breakthrough.
Belingon forces Aranda to the fence with a flurry of punches. Aranda weasels out but the Pinoy keeps on firing howitzers with his two fists. Then Aranda makes the awful mistake of presenting Belingon with his right jaw. The hometown hope hammers it with his left. Aranda plummets face-down. For sure he hits the canvas asleep. Fight over. You can watch the knockout here.
The stadium erupts with delight, and Belingon scales the fence, perches on top, and thrusts his hands skywards. The loss to Masakatsu Ueda in the ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix Final last May seems distant.
Belingon departs to high-fives and congratulations. As he enters the corridor behind the scenes he is ushered into the medical room for a thorough inspection.
There the red-taped gloves are removed, revealing wraps that have “GAB” written on them. Belingon tells me that the Games and Amusements Board inspects the wraps to make sure they aren't loaded with foreign objects. I joke with Belingon and tell him that it only seemed they were loaded when he took out Aranda.
Dr. Torres from Lifeline Arrows administers a quick check of vital signs while also inspecting his mouth, ears and eyes. A nurse checks his blood pressure and it's 140/80. The nurse says that's on the high side but that it's totally normal since he has just completed a very strenuous activity.
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“Tinamaan ka ba?” (did you get hit) asks Dr. Torres.
“Meron naman pero hindi solid” (there were some hits but they weren't solid) replies Belingon. His only sign of wear is a slight reddening over one eye. Kevin passes the inspection with flying colors. One wonders if Aranda is as lucky.
I tell Belingon that it's a pity he never got to use the newfound wrestling knowledge courtesy of Hyderabadi.
“Sa susunod na lang” (next time) he answers with a smile.
About an hour later, after Honorio Banario's sad rematch loss to Koji Oishi, Belingon surfaces in the media room to field questions from the press.
Of the knockout, Kevin says “yun ang hinihintay kong opportunity at kinuha ko. Napanood ko fight videos niya, panay submissions siya. Hindi ko inakala na sasabay siya sa akin sa striking.”
(That was the opportunity I was waiting for and I took it. I saw his fight videos and I saw that he was mostly into submissions. I didn't think he would try and match up with me in striking.)
Belingon looks relaxed and radiant in a plain t-shirt and three-quarters pants, with tape residue still on his wrists. Thanks to a gaudy 13-3 record, he now has a full head of steam going into his next bout, which has yet to be set.
But there is one issue that needs to be settled before the night is over. The Pinoy is barefoot in the press room because, according to him, his copper-and silver running shoes were left by the ring before his fight.
Kevin Belingon, in a successful attempt to restore Pinoy MMA pride, left both his shoes, and his heart, in the ring on Friday.
Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.
