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Former ONE bantamweight champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon wants to leave his previous struggles behind and prove that he’s got much more to give the world of MMA.
He’s confident that he will show that and then some when he takes on “The Fighting God” Kim Jae Woong at ONE Fight Night 4: Abbasov vs. Lee on 19 November at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Despite Belingon having been in a slump lately, he believes that with the proper training, he can get back to his old form.
“Looking back at my losses, my confidence was an issue. I feel like I’m more confident and decisive entering this fight. Even though I’ll be facing a bigger opponent this time, my confidence is solid,” he said.
“Building confidence comes with preparation. I feel like I lacked preparation over my past fights. Now I feel like I have sufficient time to prepare for this fight.”
Though his fight was announced just last week, “The Silencer” has stayed in shape for a considerably long time, making this camp one of the more fruitful ones he’s had.
In fact, he’s been assisting his teammate Stephen Loman, who takes on Bibiano Fernandes on the same card, and that has been helping him too.
Aside from Loman, he also gets to train with another bantamweight in Jeremy Pacatiw, who’ll be taking on Tial Thang in Manila this December, giving him a lot of tough training partners during camp.
“The preparation has been well. I feel like my conditioning is getting better. I still have a week’s worth of hard training before the fight, and I’m in very good shape. My endurance and conditioning are top notch now, and I feel like I’m ready,” he said.
“I’m paired up with guys that are either at my weight or bigger than me, like kuya (brother) Eduard [Folayang], Stephen [Loman], Jeremy [Pacatiw], JM [Sangiao] and some other teammates.”
While this match won’t be easier than his previous bouts, Belingon knows that with the right preparation and mindset, the bout could be his to steal.
“Expect fireworks from this match. I know Kim Jae Woong isn’t a pushover, so expect me to do everything to win and get back on track – whatever it takes,” he said.
“If an opportunity to knock him out presents itself, I’ll take it. If an opportunity to submit him presents itself, I’ll take it. Anything that can make me get back to the winning track, I’ll take it.”