ONE
The third installment of last month’s ONE: “Inside the Matrix” card will be broadcast on Friday. The main event is a bantamweight fight that has been talked about for years with UFC veteran John Lineker facing former champion Kevin Belingon.
Belingon’s Team Lakay training partners Geje Eustaquio and Kevin Belingon will also be in action on a card that is sure to attract lots of interest in the Philippines. Both men have been handed tough fights against opponents from Korea and Japan respectively.
Here’s my preview of the five fight card:
Koha Minowa vs Lito Adiwang (Strawweight)
Koha Minowa (11-2) signed for ONE Championship as the reigning Shooto 115-pound champion and will be looking to make a big impression on his debut. He wins his fights on the floor, either through submission or ground and pound, and that will definitely be the strategy here.
Opponent Lito Adiwang (11-2) has an identical record. He has the classic Team Lakay wushu striking style but has never been tested against a submission specialist of Minowa’s calibre.
Murad Ramazanov vs. Hiroyuki Tetsuka (Welterweight)
Murad Ramazanov made a very impressive ONE Championship deut, finishing former Legend FC welterweight champion Bae Myung Ho in under a round. The Russian has five wins in a row over more experienced opponents and could earn a title shot with another impressive performance here.
Hiroyuki Tetsuka (9-3) is the reigning welterweight King of Pancrase. He has some impressive KOs on his record, is riding a five fight winning streak and will want to keep this standing.
Yuri Simoes vs. Fan Rong (Middleweight)
Yuri Simoes is a BJJ black belt who has won too many grappling and submission tournaments to list here. He makes his MMA debut here so it will be interesting to see how well-rounded the Brazilian is but on paper at least, he is the best grappler in the division.
Fan Rong (13-2) got submitted by Reinier de Ridder in under two minutes last year. That doesn’t bode too well for the Chinese fighter who will need to keep this standing long enough to test the chin of an opponent who has no MMA experience.
Song Min Jong vs. Geje Eustaquio (Catchweight)
Geej Eustaquio (13-8) has the Team Lakay striking style and likes a spinning strike. He is difficult to submit and has good stamina but tends to go the distance, his last fight being a notable exception.
Song Min Jong (11-7) likes to press forwards using punches and knees and make opponents back up before taking them down. He will have to look out for the spinning counters from Eustaquio, but will probably be on the front foot right from the start looking to get the fight down.
A former ONE Championship flyweight champion is facing a former Road FC flyweight champion in a catchweight contest in Singapore. Geje Eustaquio has been booked to take on Song Min Jong in an event that will be being broadcast next Friday.
Kevin Belingon vs. John Lineker (Bantamweight)
The main event pits the power of John Lineker (32-9) against the speed of Kevin Belingon (20-7). The Brazilian likes to plant his feet and throw heavy punches, he has knocked out some of the best flyweights in the world in this style.
Belingon likes to use his footwork to get in and out, attacking with kicks and overhand rights but tends to go the distance. The Filipino will need to fight the perfect fight here if he wants to win, getting in to land his strikes and out in time to avoid the counter whereas Lineker only needs to land once and it could all be over.
The entire ONE: “Inside the Matrix” III fight card will be available to view free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here. In the U.S. it will be streamed on B/R Live.