According to Leone, both he and Belingon have been told their match, which headlines the card at the MOA Arena, is a title eliminator.
“The winner gets the rematch (with Fernandes) and I am excited for this opportunity. Training is going great and I’m going to go out there and put on a good performance for the Filipino fans, and for the world.”
Leone comes from a wrestling background and competed throughout his high school years before switching to MMA. He recently earned a BJJ black belt and sees this as a straightforward striker versus grappler match-up.
“Belingon is a tough guy, knocking everybody out. I look forward to going in there and strangling him.”
There are some big names on Leone’s resume. He’s been in with some seasoned Japanese fighters and highly touted Korean prospects and feels this has helped him develop as a fighter,
“ONE Championship has given me tough matches since I signed with them and I would not have it any other way. My first match was against Geje Eustaquio; my second match was against the number one guy in the world for years, Shinichi Kojima; then I faced Koetsu Okazaki, another Shooto champ, and another guy who has a lot of wins over top bantamweights in ONE.”