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The inaugural ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) flyweight belt will be on the line when Filipino fighter Geje Eustaquio faces Brazilian grappler Adriano Moraes in the main event of the “Rise of the Kingdom” fight card on September 12.
Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion heads to Cambodia for the first time to stage its seventh event in 2014, which takes place at the 4,200-seater Koh Pich Theatre in Phnom Penh.
“ONE FC: Rise of the Kingdom will feature a battle for the inaugural ONE FC flyweight world championship between Geje Eustaquio and Adriano Moraes,” ONE FC chief Victor Cui confirmed in a press release.
The ONE FC flyweight strap remains vacant due to the championship clash that did not materialize at ONE FC: Champions & Warriors in September of last year.
Yasuhiro Urushitani was scheduled to square off with Shinichi Kojima for the 125-pound trinket, but he had to pull out due to an injury and was replaced by Andrew Leone.
In an astonishing turn of events, Leone also had to turn down the title tilt when he injured his knee three days before the faceoff, forcing ONE FC executives to scrap the bout.
The much-anticipated encounter between Leone and Kojima eventually transpired at ONE FC: War of Nations in March, but the division’s top prize was not up for grabs.
With the current situation at hand, the weight class underwent a major shake-up as other ONE FC stalwarts like Eustaquio and Moraes moved up in the rankings.
Fighting out of the Baguio City-based Team Lakay, Eustaquio (6-2) has won six of his last eight professional outings, winning three of his six triumphs by stoppage.
The 25-year-old Wushu practitioner made his case for a title opportunity this past June when he outpointed Japanese combatant Kentaro Watanabe via unanimous decision at ONE FC: Era of Champions.
On the other hand, Moraes (11-1) secured a title shot by forcing Kosuke Suzuki to tap out with a third-round arm-triangle choke on the same ONE FC card, where Eustaquio thumped Watanabe to receive a championship crack.
After an unsuccessful promotional debut against Yusup Saadulaev in November 2013, the 5-foot-8 “Black Diamond” bounced back with two-straight submission victories over former UFC fighter Yasuhiro Urushitani and Suzuki to insert his name in the flyweight title mix.
“This highly-anticipated bout pits two of the best flyweights in the world against each other and promises a night of intense action and heart-thumping excitement,” Cui said.
Company officials are expected to announce more bouts for ONE FC: Rise of the Kingdom in the weeks to come. – Rappler.com
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