ONE Championship: The Eustaquio vs Moraes Trilogy

ONE Championship: The Eustaquio vs Moraes Trilogy

By: Jessie Aguilar Suarez

Part 2: Moraes Threw Everything but the Kitchen Sink

In their rematch on June 2018 for the unification of the ONE Flyweight World Championship, a very narrow split decision win by Geje Eustaquio casts a shadow on the legitimacy of his reign as champion. Despite being able to have an answer to everything that Moraes had to offer, the fact that 2 out 3 judges favored him and with the controversial “tap” claimed by Moraes in the fifth and final round as Eustaquio was trapped in a guillotine only piled-up on issues left to be answered.

The fight was so close any judge can score the fight either way. Some claims that Moraes’ takedowns and submission attempts should be given credit while some would say that Eustaquio not only dominated Moraes in the stand-up but punished Moraes with ground and pounds while on the mat. Also, Moraes was never in a position of dominance if he cannot submit Eustaquio as some would argue. What should be taken into consideration as well is that Geje Eustaquio is not even cautious in taking the fight to the ground. He even landed a couple of takedowns against Moraes despite losing via guillotine the last time they met. “The Gravity” clearly equipped himself with the right tools to avoid a similar fate. Besides, their last outing was almost 4 years ago, a lot has definitely changed since.

Whatever the case, a rubber match seems appropriate and would likely silence all doubters as to who the true champion really is. Adriano Moraes threw everything he’s got in this match, but he couldn’t submit Eustaquio. Geje’s confidence grew more especially in the later rounds since Moraes’ fabled finishing prowess was nullified every time. This will eventually be carried over in their much anticipated third encounter, a first in ONE Championship history.

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