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There will not be anybody who is aware of the primary occasion stars of ONE: WINTER WARRIORS II higher than former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio.
The Filipino veteran will likely be watching intently when his Group Lakay stablemate and #2-ranked flyweight contender Danny “The King” Kingad squares off towards #4-ranked Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov in a high-stakes blended martial arts showdown this Friday, 17 December.
Eustaquio, considered one of Group Lakay’s elder statesmen, has been coaching with Kingad on the Baguio Metropolis-based gymnasium for a number of years.
Throughout that point, he’s helped the 26-year-old develop his method to fight and fine-tune his total ability set.
As such, “Gravity” is aware of his younger cost in and out, and he thinks Kingad may have an edge over “The Kazakh” in a number of completely different areas.
“I imagine Danny’s essential benefit right here is his athleticism. I feel that’s the place Danny will actually transfer forward. Apart from being youthful and brisker, his power and energy are his benefits over Akhmetov,” Eustaquio says.
“Danny has actually been enhancing, and his greatest enchancment got here by way of [his] physique and abilities. I imagine he’s added a variety of issues to his arsenal and due to that, he’s extra assured to execute sport plans now.”
Nonetheless, Eustaquio refuses to rely out “The Kazakh” after going toe-to-toe in two heated battles.
Their first assembly got here in September 2017 after Akhmetov misplaced the ONE Flyweight World Title to Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes. The Kazakhstani grappler bounced again from his first profession defeat to earn a slender split-decision victory over “Gravity.”
However when the duo rematched 5 months later for the ONE Interim Flyweight World Championship, Eustaquio utilized his prized wushu putting and improved takedown protection to earn the unanimous resolution nod – and the gold – after 5 rounds.
In whole, Eustaquio shared the Circle with Akhmetov for a jaw-dropping 40 minutes, so he has a deep understanding of the 34-year-old’s expertise and psychological fortitude.
Due to these experiences, the Filipino veteran is aware of how his outdated foe operates and might help Kingad navigate some potential pitfalls of their headlining tilt on Friday.
“One factor that Akhmetov has is his confidence. Having confronted him twice already, he has a distinct form of confidence when he steps into the Circle, and I feel that’s one benefit of his,” Eustaquio presents.
“When he’s actually composed, he can actually execute and get issues his means. That’s what I observed significantly in our first combat.
“Danny shouldn’t permit Akhmetov to realize confidence on this match. He ought to keep away from letting that man dictate and management the tempo of the motion.”
With all that in thoughts, Eustaquio expects this contest to be an exciting matchup that goes the gap.
However finally, he thinks his teammate will do sufficient to go away the Singapore Indoor Stadium with a convincing win.
“I imagine that is going to be a struggle. They’ll stand toe-to-toe in putting and on the bottom. I’m taking Danny by unanimous resolution.”
Learn extra: 7 Teen MMA Stars Who Had Superb ONE Championship Debuts
