Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio isn’t planning to leave his faith to the judges hands again when he faces fierce Thai rival Anatpong Bunrad in ONE: Dynasty of Heroes on May 26 in Singapore.
When Eustaquio and Bunrad first crossed paths in April 2015 in a ONE cage, Bunrad pocketed a victory on a split decision, handing Eustaquio his fourth career loss.
Although Eustaquio still believes that he did enough to get the win in the first encounter, the man known as “Gravity” intends to leave no doubts in the second meeting by claiming a decisive finish.
“I have to make sure it will be a landslide if it will go to a decision, or if God permits, I will knock him down or submit him. I will go there and do my job. If God permits, I will bring home the victory,” he stated. “The last time we fought, it was a razor-thin decision,” Eustaquio said, looking back on his close decision setback two years ago.
The 28-year-old Eustaquio feels that a consistent work rate in the rematch will be vital in his search for redemption. “Maybe I lacked the quantity in striking. There were also cases when his leg kicks, though those were weak ones, did connect. It didn’t hurt as much, but in the eyes of the judges, it had a big impact. So maybe this time, I’ll avoid those leg kicks,” Eustaquio said.
Since the setback Eustaquio scored two victories but suffered a defeat. He knocked out Saiful Merican with a counter left hook in the first round in January 2016 and outlasted Gianni Subba in a unanimous decision in april, 2016. He, however, dropped his match when he succumbed to Toni Tauru’s rear-naked choke last December, 2016.
Eustaquio had been focusing on the mental aspect of the marquee match-up. “My first fight against him served as a big lesson. It’s my duty to learn from my mistakes and improve to become a better martial artist. I know what I am capable of.” he ended.
Meanwhile, Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee still enjoys life of being champion and looks to extend her winning roll in ONE Championship.
She is set to square off with Brazil’s Istela Nunes in the main event of the Dynasty of Heroes.
Considered as the face of women’s mixed martial arts in Asia, Lee is one of ONE Championship’s most outstanding athletes regardless of gender or weight class.
The 20-year-old MMA sensation made history in May 2016 by capturing the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship belt with an awe-inspiring victory over Mei Yamaguchi.
Lee’s beautiful combination of elite striking and grappling skills has proven to be a potent formula for success as she has remained unbeaten inside the ONE Championship cage.
Lee dominated top contender Jenny Huang of Chinese Taipei with a masterful display of striking to successfully defend her gold-plated strap in her last trip to the cage.
Lee’s dominance and fast rise to popularity in the sport of MMA made her one of ONE Championship’s biggest draws.
Despite her young age and the ever-increasing pressures around her, Lee is still loving life of being the champion. She looks forward to her next world title defense.
“I’m very excited to be jumping back into the cage and defending my title for the second time. My last training camp for my first title defense was great. This one is going to be even better.” she stated.
However, Nunes is an opponent that could not be underestimated as she is a two-time Muay Thai world champion with an unblemished 6-0 professional record.
Nunes’ exciting style and knack for delivering powerful strikes makes for exciting fights and is one of the biggest components of her game.
The 24-year-old striker also took on Yamaguchi in her last outing and likewise got a win, albeit in a closely-contested split decision.
At her best, Nunes is a well-rounded combatant with a respectable grappling and a solid striking skill-set that gave her two career wins by KO.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
