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Pinoy MMA fighter Kevin Belingon demolishes Aussie in ONE FC

It was a devastating performance from a proud Igorot warrior that made a whole country proud.

Baguio's Kevin Belingon catapulted himself into the ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix final by comprehensively annihilating Australian-Vietnamese Thanh Vu via Referee Stopped Contest-strikes a minute into the second round in Singapore's Indoor Stadium on Friday.

The Team Lakay star rocked Vu with a kick to the head then strafed him with a savage barrage of punches and kicks.

Vu stayed on his feet for a few moments then crumpled into the fence, forcing the referee to call a halt to the proceedings.

The fighter nicknamed “The Silencer” improves his MMA record to 11 wins and 2 losses, while the 21-year-old Vu slumps to 4-2-0.

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The 25-year old Tuwali Igorot now faces Masakatsu Ueda from Japan, in the Grand Prix Final.

The 35-year old Japanese took out American legend Jens Pulver with a textbook D'Arce choke 3:52 into the second round of their Grand prix semifinal.

The winner of the Belingon-Ueda matchup seals a date with ONE FC Bantamweight champ Soo Chul Kim, with the young Korean's belt at stake.

Belingon, a graduate of Criminology from the University of the Cordilleras, started the fight aggressively, with several kicks that connected in the first round.

He turned up the aggression in the second round and finished his taller opponent with a flourish.

In the other bout featuring a Filipino, Rene “The Challenger” Catalan succumbed to Brazilian Alex Silva via Armbar submission at the 4:34 mark in Round 1.

The four-time world Wushu champion was on the defensive from the get-go in the Flyweight fight.

Silva attempted to armbar Catalan early on but the Filipino, making his MMA debut, did well to escape the Brazilian's clutches and even hammer him with some stiff rights to the face.

Silva then mounted him from behind and nearly ensnared Catalan in a rear naked choke, but once again the southpaw wriggled free.

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But with a minute to go until the first round bell, the 30-year-old Brazilian finally caught Catalan in an armbar and the Filipino was forced to tap out.

It was a losing MMA debut for the 34-year old Pinoy out of Fighting Empire gym. Silva improved to two wins and one loss.

Catalan nonetheless does his home town, Santa Barbara, Iloilo proud. The fighter from barangay Lanag, in the town more known as a Footballing hotbed, wore a “Team Ilonggo” shirt going into the ring.

In the final undercard Brock Larson emerged victorious in a fascinating Middleweight encounter with Dutchman Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef via unanimous decision.

Larson, a ground specialist, executed a great game plan of keeping the fight on the canvas in order to neutralize Manhoef's wicked striking.

The first round went Manhoef's way as Larson was seen running away from his opponent after getting tagged by a vicious kick to the head.

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The 2nd round was cagey, until Manhoef siezed the initiative with his kicks. The American held on and even got Manhoef into an armbar but the Dutchman was saved by the bell.

In the final round Brock got Manhoef on the ground by the fence and salted the fight away with a series of elbows and punches.

“He is like a truck. I've never been hit so hard in my life” admitted Larson, who improves to 37-7.

The main event of ONE FC Kings and Champions was for the connoisseurs of grappling. Japan's Shinya Aoki became the new ONE FC Lightweight champ by submitting countryman Kotetsu Boku via rear naked choke two minutes into the second round of their scheduled five-round title bout.

The 29-year old was emotional as he thanked his Evolve teammates after the fight. He now goes to 33-6-1 in his career.

In a hard fought Bantamweight clash, Brazilian Leandro Issa won a unanimous decision over Russian Yusup Saadulaev.

Eddie Ng from Hong Kong defeated Arnaud Lepont from France with an armbar submission late in the second round of their Lightweight encounter. Lepont then carried Ng on his shoulders after the official announcement.

The next ONE FC fight night is slated for May 31 in the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Metro Manila, where Honorio Banario is expected to stake his ONE FC Featherweight belt against an unnamed opponent.

Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.