Geje Eustaquio’s rematch record is impressive. On three separate occasions he has been offered the opportunity to avenge a loss and the Filipino has prevailed every time.
Defeats to Anatpong Bunrad, Kairat Akhmetov and Adriano Moraes were avenged even if the Brazilian did triumph in the trilogy bout. At ONE: ‘Masters of Fate’ on Friday the 30 year old will be looking to repeat this useful trick.
He rematches Toni Tauru and Eustaquio will be looking to defeat an opponent who submitted him in 2016,
“I was not myself that time. I learned my lessons and I will do my best not to repeat the same mistakes.”
Rematch king
Eustaquio is no longer the flyweight champion. But while he won’t be defending his belt the ONE Championship veteran does have a reputation to protect,
“I am looking forward to our rematch. I want to live as the ‘Rematch King’.”
Having twice gone the distance with BJJ black belt Moraes he is entitled to feel he should be able to avoid getting submitted by Tauru. The first fight lasted less than four minutes and Eustaquio says lessons have been learned,
“My best tool against him will be my mind. I need to compete smarter this time around. I think staying focused and making sure that I am ready for everything will make it a different story.”
Superior striking
This fight will be at flyweight, the first match was at bantamweight. Tauru once got stopped with strikes by Bibiano Fernandes in a title bout and Eustaquio believes this is one department where he will definitely have the edge,
“I respect his striking skills, but I believe that we at Team Lakay have a superior striking edge over their team.”
Eustaquio is a veteran of 16 ONE Championship bouts but has not won any of them by submission. His last five victories have all come courtesy of a decision.
It’s a record he would like to improve on Friday. Eustaquio wants to remain the ‘rematch king’ and would love nothing more than to score a submission win against the grappler,
“I still need to watch out for his grappling, but I’m not afraid to mix it up on the ground. I am looking for a stoppage, and I’m hoping that I can end it by submitting him.”
