Hometown crowd won’t bother Geje Eustaquio in Malaysia, says coach

MANILA, Philippines – Even if Geje Eustaquio is entering enemy territory for his comeback bout, Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao assures that his valued fighter is in no way intimated with his opponent’s hometown advantage.

After 10 months of waiting on the sidelines, Eustaquio is set to return inside the ONE Championship cage against Malaysian fighter Saiful Merican in a 3-round flyweight contest on the promotion’s “Clash of Heroes” card, which takes place at the 10,000-seater Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on January 29.

Eustaquio is not new to overseas trips as he has won two of his last 3 out-of-the country matches, but it will be his first time to face a local favorite on his home-soil.

Given that the marquee match-up will be held in Malaysia, Sangiao stressed that the cage encounter with Merican is Eustaquio’s chance to prove his worth as a world-class athlete.

“He is not bothered fighting in Malaysia against a Malaysian fighter. It’s a tough task, but he has to step up and prove something as an international competitor in the sport of MMA. It’s not all the time that he will have the luxury to fight in front of the Filipino fans,” he told Rappler.

Merican (4-2) is coming off a second-round stoppage of compatriot Melvin Yeoh last October and has won 3 of his previous 4 ONE appearances.

“Saiful is a good Muay Thai player. He is also good in stand-up exchanges. It will be a good match. It will be a war,” Sangiao said of Merican.

On the other hand, Eustaquio (6-4) is aiming to rebound from a two-fight losing skid and has not won a single outing since outpointing Kentaro Watanabe in June 2014 to earn the opportunity to vie for the inaugural ONE flyweight championship against Adriano Moraes.

During that stretch, the 26-year-old Team Lakay representative yielded to Moraes via second-round submission in September 2014 before Anatpong Bunrad spoiled Eustaquio’s road back to another ONE flyweight title shot as the Thai kickboxer walked away with a split decision victory in April 2015. 

Eustaquio was originally penciled to make his return this past December versus Yang Jian Bing, but the Chinese combatant was rushed to the hospital before the official weigh-in and eventually passed away due to a heart attack hours before fight night.

“It was painful for him, but we just have to accept what happened. He’s a fighter. This is his career. He needs to accept it and move on,” Sangiao stated about the incident.

Aside from Eustaquio, Eduard Folayang will likewise don the Team Lakay colors on the same fight card as he is slated to square off with Japanese lightweight Tetsuya Yamada. – Rappler.com