Former One Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon had his eyes glued to his television set when Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu faced Jhanlo Mark Sangiao at ONE Fight Night 13 this past weekend.
He was certainly impressed with how Baatarkhuu submitted Sangiao in the second round of their bantamweight MMA clash at Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday, 4 August.
Baatarkhuu’s durability and “warrior spirit” caught Belingon’s attention. After all, the Mongolian had to storm back from a signature Sangiao first-round blitz to secure the kimura in the second frame and continue his meteoric rise in the division.
“It was a great fight. Enkh-Orgil proved that he’s tough and won’t go away easily. We’ve seen Jhanlo tag him with solid hits, floored him, and he quickly got back up,” he said.
“I believe he has the warrior spirit in him, and in the second round he got Jhanlo on the ground and submitted him, but both men performed really well.”
Seeing Baatarkhuu emerge as the next threat excites the former bantamweight king, as he feels the 34-year-old will be more than willing to stand and trade with him.
Adding to that motivation is the fact that Baatarkhuu has been dominating Filipinos left and right since making his promotional debut earlier this year. In fact, he scored dominant wins over Adonis Sevilleno and Rockie Bactol.
Having been in a slump recently, facing a hungry fighter on the rise could very well be the fight that Belingon needs.
“Of course! Of course! I want to face him. We all know he’s a very strong wrestler and grappler, that’s his strength. I feel like I will have the upper hand in striking, but as I’ve said, I’ve been working hard on my grappling and BJJ,” Belingon said.
“I think this will be a great fight for me, should it happen. It would truly test my ground game and striking as well.”
Should a match between them take place, he’s confident that he can knock Baatarkhuu out, especially if the latter fights like he did against Sangiao.
“I think he’ll feel my power. I saw in his fight against Jhanlo, he was really feeling his strikes. He even got cut and knocked down, so I think I can knock him out if I face him,” he said.
“Of course, at the end of the day, it all boils down to how I prepare for it. We’ve seen how tough he is. He’s a warrior, and I have to prepare for him.”