After achieving success in ONE Championship’s featherweight division, former top-ranked contender “The Fighting God” Kim Jae Woong (12-6) is moving down a weight class and looking to make an instant impact.
The South Korean knockout artist will officially make his bantamweight debut against the division’s former king, Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon (20-9), at ONE on Prime Video 4, which fans can watch live and for free with an Amazon Prime subscription on Friday.
Kim became a fixture in the promotion’s featherweight ranks, but he only competed in the weight class as an act of sportsmanship for his Extreme Combat and Top Gym BF stablemate Kwon Won Il.
However, “The Fighting God” felt the time was finally right to return to his ideal weight class and test his skills against the division’s elite.
“I decided to move down to bantamweight because it is my natural weight class,” he said.
“I only went up to featherweight because my teammate Kwon Won Il was doing so well there, and I didn’t want to get in his way. Now that he’s stable, I want to be more competitive in my natural weight class.”
As well as sharing a weight class with his teammate, the South Korean countrymen will both share a similar foe in Belingon after Friday night’s showdown.
Kwon originally knocked out the former ONE bantamweight world champion with a body shot in December 2021, so “The Fighting God” has been studying that tape and gaining valuable insight from his compatriot.
“We talked a lot,” Kim said. “I believe that every opponent improves every fight, so I’m sure Kevin Belingon will come out as the best version of himself. I’m staying sharp and not underestimating anything.”
Kim can’t afford to underestimate the Filipino striker, especially since Belingon’s back is against the wall.
After dropping the ONE bantamweight world title to Bibiano Fernandes in May 2019, the Team Lakay product finds himself on a four-bout skid. Another loss could perhaps spell the end of his ONE Championship run.
Knowing that, Kim expects a motivated Belingon to come out swinging – and with his penchant for KOs, he believes “The Silencer” will swing hard and often.
“He still has that one-punch knockout power, probably still the best in the division,” the 29-year-old said. “His speed is still at the top, so I will stay sharp and be careful. His punches and kicks come out of nowhere. I will have to keep all my punches short and quick so that he has no timing to counter.”
But Kim is equally motivated, too.
The Seoul resident kicked off 2022 as the top-ranked featherweight contender and had been promised a ONE featherweight world title shot. But he lost his ranking and championship opportunity to Tang Kai in March, and then he fell completely out of the top-five when Shamil Gasanov tapped him out last month.
So while Belingon is planning to bring his best shots, fans should expect nothing less from “The Fighting God.” Kim intends to fight fire-with-fire and make him quit.
“It will be a striking war, for sure,” he said. “I will mix head and body (shots). If Belingon shoots for a takedown, I’m confident also. I will make him sick and tired of me. He will want to give up. I don’t know if it will be a finish or a knockout, but I will go in there to fight.”
