Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, 30, of Ifugao, Philippines and Andrew Leone, 28, of Cortland, New York, United States will headline “ONE: Heroes of Honor” on April 20, 2018 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The Filipino mixed martial artist holds a professional MMA record of 17 wins and 5 losses while his American opponent 28 wins and 3 losses.

The two ONE Championship athletes have several things in common. They both want to become the ONE Bantamweight World Champion soon and they both lost to the reigning champion Bibiano Fernandes once.

“The title is within reach,” Belingon said. “I will beat Andrew Leone, and continue my march towards the belt.”

Fernandes, who has 22 wins and 3 losses, has yet to lose in the ONE Championship cage. He defeated Belingon on January 23, 2016 and Leone on August 5, 2017.

“I know what’s at stake here, and I know I have to beat Andrew Leone to get another shot at the title,” Belingon said. “I have to continue to give fans what they want and to leave nothing to chance.”

After losing to Fernandes, Belingon went on to defeat four opponents namely Muin Gafurov, Toni “Dynamite” Tauru, Reece “Lightning” McLaren and Kevin “Old Boy” Chung. This time around, Belingon seeks to be more impressive as he takes on Leone, who is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a highly-decorated wrestler.

As a fighter, Belingon is known for his Wushu striking. He hails from the acclaimed Team Lakay in Baguio City, which has produced its fair share of world champions such as Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, Honorio “The Rock” Banario and Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio.

“I am coming for that belt, and no one can stop me,” Belingon said. “Whoever they put in front of me, I will be looking to destroy. I am a man on a mission. I want to show everybody that I am the real title challenger-in-waiting.”

It will not be an easy task for Belingon as Leone is poised to take the Filipino’s stature as the rightful contender to vie for the coveted world title. The latter is similarly looking to secure another world championship opportunity after bowing down to Fernandes via first-round submission.