Geje Eustaquio Hopes To Avenge His Only Knockout Loss

Geje Eustaquio finished 2019 by avenging his loss to Toni Tauru at ONE: Masters Of Fate, defeating the Finn with a highlight-reel finish. The win came three years after he lost to ‘Dynamite’ by submission at ONE: Age Of Domination.

Eustaquio showed big improvements in their rematch, outstriking Tauru and overcoming his grappling on the ground. Eventually, the Team Lakay representative claimed the victory with a spinning back kick that connected to the liver. It was an emotional moment for him.

“I was overwhelmed because my 2019 was up and down, [so I felt] very good that I closed 2019 with a knockout. I can still remember my jiu-jitsu was not very good [when I first fought Tauru]. But as time went on, as we always say in the gym, ‘We improve every day, as much as possible.’ There was a lot of development every day I was training, so I’m very happy I had gotten my revenge,” Eustaquio told ONE Championship.

The victory also cemented Eustaquio’s status as ‘The Rematch King’. In addition to Tauru, ‘Gravity’ has also picked up wins in rematches against the ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes, Kairat Akhmetov, and Anatpong Bunrad. With ONE Championship set to resume their event schedule at the end of the month with ONE: No Surrender, Geje hopes to return to action with another rematch. And he has a specific opponent in mind, Yuya Wakamatsu.

Japan’s Wakamatsu is the only fighter to have knocked out Eustaquio and ‘The Rematch King’ would very much like to live up to his nickname and return the favour in a second bout with ‘Little Piranha’. The two first fought at ONE: Dawn Of Heroes and the Filipino found himself on the wrong end of a right cross. The 31 year old believes that he can write a different narrative in their rematch.

“He is the only guy who knocked me out, and I think I can also knock him out. The fighting style of Yuya is like, ‘Wait for the knockout, wait for the knockout.’ It’s that kind of stuff. Maybe, if we’re going to compete again, I will push him, I will give the pace, and we’ll see who can get the knockout.”

With Geje Eustaquio’s track record of winning rematches, how do you think he fares in a second fight against Yuya Wakamatsu?

See also:

Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Leave comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.