Geje Eustaquio‘s rematch record is immaculate. On four occasions he has been offered the opportunity to avenge a defeat and the Filipino flyweight has emerged victorious every time.
Even before Eustaquio’s victory over Toni Tauru at ONE: ‘Masters of Fate’ the Filipino was being described as the ‘rematch king‘. He would go on to enhance this reputation by beating the Finnish fighter, who had submitted him in 2016.
With Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson set to face off for the flyweight title there is no immediate prospect of Eustaquio getting a shot at the belt. Instead he has his sights set on avenging the most recent loss of his career which came at the hands of Yuya Wakamatsu,
“He is the only guy who knocked me out, and I think I can also knock him out,” he said.
Push the pace
Wakamatsu is coming off a decision win over Dae Hwan Kim at ONE: ‘Century’ Part 1. The fight was somewhat uneventful and it sounds like Eustaquio was paying attention.
He thinks Wakamatsu is too dependent on his ability to finish a fight with a single blow,
“The fighting style of Yuya is like ‘wait for the knockout, wait for the knockout.’ If we’re going to compete again I will push the pace and we’ll see who can get the knockout,” he said.
Eustaquio had already beaten Moraes, Anatpong Bunrad and Kairat Akhmetov in rematches. But he says the victory over Tauru felt particularly sweet,
“I was overwhelmed. My 2019 was up and down (but) I closed 2019 with a knockout,” he recalls.
Sweet revenge
Eustaquio had been submitted in the first fight but finished the rematch with a spinning back kick. He thinks the result reflected the three years of hard work he had put in between the two fights,
“I can still remember my jiu-jitsu was not very good. 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 got my revenge.”
Revenge is a feeling Eustaquio is very familiar with. His rematch record speaks for itself and the 31 year old would like to make it five out of five at Wakamatsu’s expense.
