“My training just went on” - Former bantamweight MMA champ Kevin Belingon says he kept grinding during time off the Circle

Kevin Belingon has stayed active by helping his training partners prepare for their fights. In November 2022, Belingon made his latest ONE Championship appearance, extending his losing streak to five fights due to a first-round knockout defeat against Kim Jae Woong.

Since then, the former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion has patiently awaited an opportunity to return to the win column. On Feb. 20, Belingon is scheduled to fight Bibiano Fernandes for a fifth time. Fernandes has won three of their previous meetings.

During an interview with The MMA Superfan, Belingon had this to say about how he's stayed active while not fighting for over two years:

"I was a bit stressed because it was almost two years already and I hadn’t gotten a fight offer yet. But thankfully, my teammates had fought previously, so I was still actively training as their training and sparring partner. First, there was Eduard (Folayang), Joshua (Pacio), Jeremy (Pacatiw), and then Danny (Kingad) who fought. So my training just went on."

Bibiano Fernandes vs. Kevin Belingon 5 will take place inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. The event featuring two world title fights can be seen for free via watch.onefc.com.

In the main event, Jonathan Haggerty will defend his bantamweight kickboxing world title for the first time. He has been matched up against Wei Rui, who defeated Hiroki Akimoto in his promotional debut.

ONE 171: Qatar also features the trilogy bout between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks to determine the undisputed strawweight MMA world champion.

Watch Belingon's entire interview with The MMA Superfan below:

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Kevin Belingon looks to end five-fight losing streak against Bibiano Fernandes

At 37 years old, Kevin Belingon has a statement to make after losing five consecutive fights, all inside the distance (one disqualification).

The former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion has had plenty of time to recover from lingering injuries. He's also fighting a familiar opponent.

Bibiano Fernandes, who's also a former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion, is coming off losses against John Lineker and Stephen Loman. Fernandes will have added confidence at ONE 171: Qatar, as he's previously defeated Belingon three times under the ONE banner.

Belingon and Fernandes plan to showcase how much gas they have left in the tank, which should make for an action-packed battle.