Geje Eustaquio excited to showcase new skills in ONE FC cage

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Filipino fighter Geje Eustaquio promises a new and improved version of himself when he steps inside the ONE Championship cage against Malaysian combatant Saiful Merican on Friday, January 29.

Eustaquio 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 native of Baguio City lost two-straight outings, yielding 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.

The man standing in his re-entry to the winner’s column is Merican, who is coming off a second-round stoppage triumph over compatriot Melvin Yeoh this past October and has won 3 of his previous 4 ONE appearances. 

Both men are set to square off on the undercard of ONE: Clash of Heroes, which takes place at the 10,000-seater Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

PH’s Geje Eustaquio had a staredown with Malaysia’s Saiful Merican at the press conference. @RapplerSports pic.twitter.com/fPCmdDVB5L

— NISSI ICASIANO (@Nissi_Icasiano) January 28, 2016

Eustaquio admitted that the string of defeats compelled him to spend more time in gym and hone his skills. 

“From the title loss to my recent fight in Manila, I sensed the urgency to improve my skills and arsenal first,” he told Rappler.

The 5-foot-5 Team Lakay representative who is known for his striking ability stressed that his nearly 10-month hiatus allowed him to develop his timing and precision.

“This time, we enhanced timing and precision. We added speed as well as proper executions of game plan,” he shared.

Although he expects that Merican will stand and bang with him in their 3-round flyweight encounter, Eustaquio asserted that he made sure to fine-tune his ground game. 

“My ground game is coming. My wrestling is coming. I believe if you’re going to compare it with others, it’s not very low in terms of performance in wrestling or grappling,” he said. “Honestly speaking, I am not that far behind.” – Rappler.com