Kevin Belingon destroys Andrew Leone at ONE Heroes of Honor
NUMBER ONE. Kevin Belingon dominates former bantamweight world title challenger Andrew Leone. Photo by Richard Esguerra
MANILA, Philippines – Kevin Belingon launched like a cannon from the opening bell, stunning Andrew Leone with a series of kicks and takedowns in the ONE: Heroes of Honor on Friday, April 20, at Mall of Asia Arena.
In the 2:30 mark of the first round, the wushu sanda expert bust Leone’s head wide open with a surgical one-two elbow and knee strike. There was a brief stoppage, however, and Leone managed to barely survive the end of the round.
Belingon knocked Leone down once more in the beginning of the second round and went for the kill, leading to a referee stoppage at the 1:27 mark.
For the co-main event, Italian kickboxing megastar Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan emerged victorious via a unanimous decision in a violent bout against Thai world champion “Smokin’” Jo Nattawut. Amid the flurry of stinging kicks in the first round, Nattawut unfortunately hit Petrosyan down low, causing a timeout.
THRILLER. Honorio Banario scores a nail-biting split decision win versus Aussie Adrian Pang. Photo by Richard Esguerra
In the undercard, Team Lakay’s Honorio Banario scored a nail-biting split decision victory over veteran Aussie Adrian Pang. The 40-year old Pang taunted the younger, 28-year old Banario all night but Banario responded in kind with swift kicks to Pang’s face and torso. While Pang appeared to get inside the head of the Filipino fighter, Banario finished in fine style for the split win.
Fellow Lakay stalwart Gina Iniong also won her bout in the second match of the card, pinning and pounding Chinese Taipei’s Jenny Huang to remain undefeated at 15-0.
Thai living legend Nong-O Gaiyanghadao collected his 256th career win over French world champion Fabio Pinca in a masterful display of striking en route to a UD.
Taekwondo specialist Dae Hwan Kim and veteran grappler Masakazu Imanari delivered a laugh-inducing bout filled with unorthodox moves and taunts but also included surprising takedowns from Imanari. Although Kim was visibly frustrated at the unpredictability, he ultimately won via unanimous decision.
Other notable victories include Marat “Cobra” Gafurov of Russia choking out USA’s Emilio Urrutia, Brazilian Muay Thai expert Cosmo Alexandre knocking out Aussie Elliot Compton via a left knee to the gut and Japan’s Akihiro Fujisawa forcing the Philippines’ Kaji Ebin to a first-round tap-out.
LIKE A CANON. Andrew Leone barely survives Kevin Belingon's flurry of strikes. Photo from ONE Championship
FULL RESULTS
Main Event
Kevin Belingon (PHI) def. Andrew Leone (USA) via Rd. 2 KO (1:27)
Giorgio Petrosyan (ITA) def. Jo Nattawut (THA) via UD
Undercard
Honorio Banario (PHI) def. Adrian Pang (AUS) via SD
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao (THA) def. Fabio Pinca (FRA) via UD
Marat Gafurov (RUS) def. Emilio Urrutia (USA) via Rd.1 submission (2:34)
Dae Hwan Kim (KOR) def. Masakazu Imanari (JPN) via UD
Cosmo Alexandre (BRA) def. Elliot Compton (AUS) via Rd. 2 KO (2:41)
Akihiro Fujisawa (JPN) def. Kaji Ebin (PHI) via Rd. 1 KO (1:48)
Regian Eersel (NET) def. Brad Riddell (AUS) via UD
Gina Iniong (PHI) def. Jenny Huang (TPE) via UD
Adrian Mattheis (IND) def. Lan Ming Qiang (CHI) via UD
– Rappler.com
