Adriano Moraes, Geje Eustaquio
If based on the old idiom “Second
time’s the charm,” it would be the perfect embodiment to depict Filipino
superstar Geje Eustaquio’s professional mixed martial arts career as Lady Luck
seems to be on his side in every rematch that he has had.
Out of 16 bouts in his seven-year
prizefighting stint, Eustaquio has shared the stage with the same foe on two
occasions, walking out in both instances with his arm raised in triumph.
After dropping a split decision to
Anatpong Bunrad in April 2015, Eustaquio settled the score with his
arch-nemesis two years later by edging out the Thai hard-hitter with
his own split decision victory.
Meanwhile, Eustaquio clinched the ONE
Interim Flyweight World Championship, toppling Kazakh rival Kairat Akhmetov by
way of five-round unanimous decision in a second encounter this past January.
“Winning the world title is a dream
come true for me. Ever since I started my professional career, the goal was to
be a world champion. Now, that goal is a reality,” Eustaquio stated.
Believing that it could be sweeter the
second time around, the 29-year-old Baguio City native seeks to replicate the
same magic as he is slated to lock horns once again with Brazilian flyweight
kingpin Adriano Moraes.
Both men are scheduled to face each
other in a world title unification clash at ONE: PINNACLE OF POWER, which takes
place at the Studio City Event Center in Macau, China on June 23.
“There were lots of trials and
challenges. My path was not the easiest, but I always knew what I had to do to
achieve it. Like I always say, it’s either you win or you learn. I learned from
my past failures. And here I am today. That’s the secret to my success,”
Eustaquio shared.
“On June 23, I have a tough task
in front of me. However, it is still an opportunity for me, an opportunity that
comes once in a lifetime. On that date, it’s my opportunity to become the
undisputed champion of this division. And I am coming for it,” he added.
Eustaquio and Moraes stood opposite
each other for the first time in September 2014 when the two collided for the
inaugural ONE Flyweight World Championship.
Moraes derailed Eustaquio’s
championship aspirations as he found a way to counteract his opponent’s
striking prowess in the second round and then forced the 5-foot-5 Team Lakay
representative to wave the white flag with a guillotine choke.
Eustaquio admitted that it was a tough
defeat to digest, but he pointed out that he took a lot away from it by viewing
it as a learning curve.
“That loss has taught me a lot. Ever
since then, I have worked extensively in improving in all areas,” he said. “I
have worked extremely hard to get to this point because deep inside, I knew we
would meet again. Now I can finally give him a better fight.”
Since his initial meeting with Moraes
almost four years ago, Eustaquio stressed that he has grown tremendously as he
has matured and expanded his skillset.
“I have evolved as a martial artist
since we first met inside the cage in 2014. I know that it will be different in
the rematch against Adriano Moraes. The second bout against Kairat Akhmetov is
a testament that I am no longer a one-dimensional fighter. I trusted my team,
and in the bout against Akhmetov, one of the things we worked on was how to
bring the bout back to the feet,” he explained.
In his upcoming rematch, Eustaquio
expects that the Brazilian submission specialist may look to focus on using his
other skills.
“This time around, I have a feeling we
will be standing more. I think he will want to stand and trade with me to test
his striking,” he reasoned. “If the going gets rough, then he can focus on
taking it to the mat. The same principle applies to me. I want to test my
Jiu-Jitsu skills too, and what better opponent than Adriano Moraes to do so
against?”
According to Eustaquio, defeating
Moraes to become the undisputed ONE Flyweight World Champion would be the
proudest moment of his career.
“This rematch is very big. It is the
biggest of my career, no doubt. I am treating this bout as the most significant
of my time as a professional mixed martial artist, but because of my hard work
and preparations, all that is left is to give the performance of a lifetime,”
he ended.
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