Kevin Belingon breaks down John Lineker’s dramatic victory at ONE Fight Night 13, wants rematch

In a heart-pounding clash of hard-hitting bantamweights that left MMA fans on the edge of their seats, John Lineker staged a remarkable come-from-behind victory at ONE Fight Night 13 this past Friday.

Lineker, the former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion and current #1-ranked contender, had a lackluster start to the fight. However, he rallied back to shut off Kim Jae Woong’s lights with just four seconds remaining in their 151-pound catchweight MMA bout at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

One individual watching the match with a keen eye in the Philippines was none other than Kevin Belingon. He previously shared the Circle with Lineker in a November 2020 slugfest.

Belingon, who once held the bantamweight gold, believes the Brazilian’s workrate was slightly off in the beginning of the match.

“If I compare his last fight against [Fabricio] Andrade to his bout with Kim Jae Woong last Friday, I believe he was better against Andrade. I feel like Lineker was reserving his strength throughout the fight,” the Filipino said.

Belingon, a pioneer member of Lions Nation MMA, pointed out that Lineker’s struggles could be attributed to his pre-fight preparations.

After all, “Hands of Stone” failed to make weight for this match, forcing him to negotiate a catchweight with Kim.

“The weight cut might be a factor. But if I compare his performances in those two fights, Lineker performed better against Andrade,” he said.

Despite the adversity he faced, Lineker managed to weather the storm and turn the tide in his favor.

While the prevailing perception among fans is that Lineker was down in the eyes of the judges heading into the third and final round, Belingon thinks his Brazilian rival had the slight lead.

“If it went to the scorecards, it was still close,” he said. “However, I’d still give the win to Lineker.”

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Kevin Belingon wants to run it back with John Lineker

Beneath Kevin Belingon’s honest-to-goodness assessment of John Lineker’s most recent outing lies an underlying sentiment – a desire for redemption.

With Lineker getting the best of him via second-round TKO in their duel nearly three years ago, the Filipino spitfire hopes to get a chance to even the score.

“It’s no secret that I want to face him again,” he said. “I want to prove that I can still hang with the best.”

Lineker recently expressed his desire for a trilogy with Andrade, but perhaps a fight with Belingon could be next on the menu for the Brazilian in ONE Championship.