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| Name: |  Kevin Belingon |
| Nickname: | The Silencer |
| Age: | 24 |
| Height: | 5'5" |
| Location: | Manila, Philippines |
Relegated to the honorable mention spot on this year's bantamweight report, Filipino striker Kevin Belingon (9-0) has finally convinced us that he's worthy of a spot on our countdown... at flyweight. Standing at 5'5" tall, it's sensible to believe Belingon will eventually make the transition to 125 lbs. If his small stature wasn't enough of a hint, the birth of the UFC's own flyweight division is surely the extra motivation he needs to cut the weight.
It isn't, however, a requirement. After all, Belingon has performed admirably at 135 lbs., amassing an undefeated record of nine wins that includes a victory over twenty-plus fight veteran Justin Cruz (18-4) in only his fourth professional bout. Unfortunately, the recurring theme with fighters from the Philippines has been the lack of challenging competition, and Belingon is no exception. His record is littered with sub-par opposition.
Luckily, that's all about to change when he kicks off his newly-signed contract with One Fighting Championships in March against Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari. It will be the toughest test of his career, not only because Imanari's experience, but because Imanari's style clashes with Belingon's striking-centric offense.
While his ground tactics aren't on the level of a novice, Belingon lacks savvy submission prowess or an effective offense off his back. From top control, he can work over opponents with a competent ground and pound attack, but he still lacks diversity on the canvas.
Belingon excels on the feet, however, utilizing his Wushu roots to beat opponents with speed and ferocity in the striking department. If he can avoid Imanari's trickery and takedown game, Belingon has a solid chance at upsetting the favorite. If he loses, the cut down to 125 lbs. may become more enticing.
We're convinced that Belingon will eventually find his way into the flyweight division. A loss will likely press the issue, but Belingon can't be oblivious to his clear size disadvantage at 135 lbs. On the plus side, the Asian scene features a solid flyweight talent pool for Belingon to test himself against, and a few wins on that circuit should produce interest stateside.
Since the birth of the UFC's flyweight division creates a question of who we should consider as prospects, we've tweaked the criteria specifically for this weight class. Most notably, we drew a line, excluding the following well-known, established flyweights: Jussier ‘Formiga' da Silva, Ulysses Gomez, Ian McCall, Yasuhiro Urushitani, BJ Kojima, Rambaa Somdet, Mamoru Yamaguchi, Dustin Ortiz, Darrell Montague, Josh Rave, Danny Martinez, and any flyweights outside of our original criteria.
Footage of Kevin Belingon after the fold...
Flyweight Bantamweight Featherweight Lightweight
#1 -
#2 -
#3 -
#4 -
#5 -
#6 -
#7 -
#8 -
#9 -
#10 - Kevin Belingon#1 - Rony Mariano
#2 - Aljamain Sterling
#3 - Chris Holdsworth
#4 - Josh Hill
#5 - Fabiano Fernandes
#6 - Claudio Ledesma
#7 - Sirwan Kakai
#8 - Kyoji Horiguchi
#9 - Leandro Hygo
#10 - Pedro Munhoz#1 - Hacran Dias
#2 - Joey Gambino
#3 - Brandon Bender
#4 - Lance Palmer
#5 - Jim Alers
#6 - Anthony Gutierrez
#7 - Max Holloway
#8 - John Teixeira
#9 - Cody Bollinger
#10 - Bubba Jenkins#1 - Fabricio Guerreiro
#2 - Alessandro Ferreira
#3 - Adriano Martins
#4 - Justin Salas
#5 - Neilson Gomes
#6 - Eduard Folayang
#7 - Zorobabel Moreira
#8 - Anton Kuivanen
#9 - Jordan Rinaldi
#10 - J.P. Vainikainen
Welterweight Middleweight Light Heavyweight Heavyweight
#1 - Andrey Koreshkov
#2 - Dhiego Lima
#3 - Brandon Thatch
#4 - Nordine Taleb
#5 - Hernani Perpetuo
#6 - Brock Jardine
#7 - Alan Jouban
#8 - Mohsen Bahari
#9 - Andre Santos
#10 - Stephen Thompson#1 - Antonio Braga Neto
#2 - Marcelo Guimaraes
#3 - Claudio Silva
#4 - Bojan Velickovic
#5 - Ildemar Alcantara
#6 - Michal Materla
#7 - Elvis Mutapcic
#8 - Tor Troeng
#9 - Jack Hermansson
#10 - Tim Ruberg#1 - Wagner Prado
#2 - Phelipe Lins
#3 - Tom DeBlass
#4 - Misha Cirkunov
#5 - Kyle Cerminara
#6 - Robert Drysdale
#7 - Artur Alibulatov
#8 - Thiago Perpetuo
#9 - Steve Bosse
#10 - Juha Saarinen#1 - Magomed Malikov
#2 - Magomed Abdurahimov
#3 - Alexei Kudin
#4 - Levan Razmadze
#5 - Chris Birchler
#6 - Ruslan Magomedov
#7 - Adam Parkes
#8 - Richardson Moreira
#9 - Jan Jorgensen
10 - David Oliva
Martial Combat Superstar Fighter Profile - Kevin Belingon
Kevin 'The Silencer' Belingon vs. Ngoo 'The Indomitable' Ditty
Kevin Belingon vs. Justin Cruz
Justin Cruz versus Kevin Belingon (Round 1) by mantisboxing
1 recs | 10 comments
I was wondering about him
thought he might’ve had a place at 135.
Nate Wilcox - February 7, 2012
Unfortunately, the competition in the Philippines isn’t helping his cause. He needs to fight stronger competition. Beating Imanari is a major step in the right direction.
Leland Roling - February 7, 2012
Wins over Richard Lasprilla (long time URCC champ) on his MMA debut, and Justin Cruz (PXC Champ) on just his 4th fight is BIG, especially since he was really young and new to the sport then… but yeah, that’s understandable.
He would’ve faced much tougher comp if not for a few injuries (he was supposed to fight Ryan Diaz, but Diaz pulled out, then when he was going to fight Rafols, Belingon got injured)… \
and yes, that fight against Imanari is going to be great for his career whether he wins or loses. He’s probably going to be the underdog, but if he can keep things standing he has a very real chance of winning that fight.
Anton Tabuena - February 7, 2012
That Cruz fight was tough to glean anything from. Most of it was one-punch sniping by both fighters and Belingon finally gaining some control. Cruz isn’t exactly proven on an international level either, so it’s tough to say that the win proves anything more than he’s a great fighter in the region.
Leland Roling - February 7, 2012
I'm not sure if Kevin can cut to 125
but if he can, he’s going to be a beast there.
Excellent choice though. He’s really young and he keeps on improving on each fight.
Sucks that Legend FC pulled the video of his bout against Jo Nam Jin cause that was VERY exciting.
I truly believe if he remained on their grand prix, he would be their BW champ now. (and that’s saying a lot since their BW division is pretty deep, especially now that they even signed up a bunch of talented guys)
Anton Tabuena - February 7, 2012
oops,
I’m an idiot, the fight is linked on the post. :|
Anton Tabuena - February 7, 2012
He has actually faced some fairly decent opposition, Ngoo Ditty is 4-2 right now, Nam Jin Jo is 6-3, Justin Cruz is 18-4, Richard Lasprillia is 6-2-1 (Belingon is the only fighter to ever beat him).
Pat Schilling got a UFC shot with wins over opponents who are 0-7, 4-3, 5-8, 0-1 and 5-12, so compared to that Belingon’s standard of opposition is pretty good.
James Goyder - February 7, 2012
Pat Schilling sucks. That’s the UFC’s last-minute replacement, we’ll take whoever policy. It doesn’t mean they belong there if they were picked up.
Leland Roling - February 7, 2012
Yeah he is garbage
It is too bad that record padding is a good career move on the regional scene
Stiff Jab - February 7, 2012
goody been waiting for the flyweights to start
MaZZacare - February 7, 2012
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