ONE trilogy: Moraes unfazed by Eustaquio’s homecourt advantage

MANILA, Philippines – Heading into ONE Hero’s Ascent on Friday night, January 25, Brazilian brawler Adriano Moraes is more than ready to face off one more time with Team Lakay’s Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio. 

And no raucous Mall of Asia Arena crowd will stop him from regaining the ONE Flyweight World Title.

“It doesn’t affect me,” said Moraes. “I think it’s gonna affect him, you know? The pressure is on him. For me, it’s just one more step. I was here last year when I fought against Danny Kingad. For me, the fight was very good. I feel at home here in the Philippines.” 

The former flyweight titlist even firmly believes that Eustaquio hasn’t even really beaten him. This, despite the fact that “Gravity” defied the odds and narrowly beat Moraes via split decision for the unified flyweight belt last June 23. 

“I did good work, for me I won that fight,” he said. “If you watch the fight again, you can see so many points I did on Geje. Which is pretty well, we got the fight of the night that time. But I came back to the gym and worked hard on the details of my game.”

Contradicting hot takes aside, Moraes still gave Eustaquio due respect heading into their third encounter.

“Geje all the time, he comes very hungry and he’s a good fighter,” he said. “But I’m hungry too. I came from the best gym in the world. I have tough teammates when I fight every day. It’s just gonna be [another] fight for me.” 

So come Friday, Moraes is ready to decide the fight by his own hands – the same way he first beat Eustaquio more than 4 years ago by way of a guillotine choke. 

“It’s gonna be finished in the 1st or 2nd [round], around that. This fight’s not gonna go to the judges,” he boldly declared.

Likewise, Eustaquio wants nothing more than to finish off Moraes before the final bell. (READ: Geje Eustaquio ‘101% ready’ in Moraes trilogy)  

With both fighters tied up at one victory apiece, Friday’s main event for all the marbles is shaping up to be one hard-hitting and aggressive finale. – Rappler.com