In a thrilling night of fights during ONE Championship: Total Victory, Team Lakay’s Geje Eustaquio suffered a heartbreaking split decision loss to former ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat Akhemetov, Saturday night at the jampacked Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia.
Despite the loss, two Filipinos were able to bring home thrilling wins as Roy Doliguez and Ramon Gonzales were able to end their skids and return to contention.
Geje Eustaquio figures in thriller, falls in wrong end of decision
In the main event, Kairat Akhmetov (24-1) showcased his world-class Greco Roman wrestling chops against a lively opponent in Geje Eustaquio. In the end, two of the three official judges saw the bout in favor of “The Kazakh,” who left with a split decision victory for his efforts.
With the loss, Eustaquio slid to 9-6.
The bout was evidently well-matched from the beginning, as both warriors put their best offense on display. Eustaquio, who would exhibit his usual calm and collected striking technique, operated behind his famous Team Lakay wushu stance. Akhmetov would try to strike with him, and even landed some flashy kicks, but it was obvious that the Filipino owned the advantage on the feet.
Tactically, Akhmetov inevitably brought the action to the ground with his takedowns, working on ground and pound from top position. In a controversial sequence towards the end of the first stanza however, Eustaquio would connect on two upward kicks, the second of which would rattle his rival.
Referee Yuji Shimada called a timeout to check on Akhmetov after he failed to recognize the kick as a legal move, but would resume the bout shortly thereafter.
In round two, “The Kazakh” had fully recovered, and continued to put the pressure on Eustaquio, who exuded confidence on the back foot. Eustaquio, timing Akhmetov’s high kick, landed a pair of stiff right hand counters to do damage. Akhmetov, on the other hand, would continue his stifling wrestling game, and went on to successfully execute two more takedowns.
Finally, in the third and final round, both competitors made a case for victory. Akhmetov caught a careless “Gravity” coming in with a beautifully-timed left hand to drop the Filipino to the canvas, but he was unable to capitalize.
As “The Kazakh” followed Eustaquio to the ground, the Team Lakay stalwart would be able to recover and prevent further damage. This is when he was able to take Akhmetov down himself, winding up in top control as the final bell sounded.
Roy Doliguez scores huge come-from-behind win
In a matchup of former ONE Strawweight World Title challengers, Brazil’s Yago “Codorninha” Bryan and the Philippines’ Roy “The Dominator” Doliguez went to war at the center of the ONE Championship cage.
With his triumph over Bryan last Saturday night, Doliguez finally notched his first successful outing in the promotion, one that has surely catapulted himself closer to another shot at the title which is currently held by Japan’s Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito.
It was a tough and grueling affair, as both competitors were very well-matched. In the end, however, it was Doliguez who emerged victorious after knocking out Bryan with a single punch. Referee Olivier Coste officially called a halt to the contest at the 2:58 minute mark of the third round, giving Doliguez (7-4) his first win in the promotion.
The first round saw the two martial artists engage in an intense striking skirmish at the center of the cage. A former professional boxer, Doliguez surprisingly dictated the pace with his kicks, but Bryan landed the stronger, more powerful blows. In the middle of the frame, the Brazilian scored on a takedown as he controlled his rival on the canvas.
In the second stanza, the 35-year-old Doliguez continued to operate behind his boxing stance, throwing kicks from the outside. Bryan would again secure double underhooks and take the bout back down to the ground. “The Dominator”, however, was able to get back up to his feet with a butterfly sweep.
Towards the end of the round, Doliguez caught “Codorninha” with a straight left hand right down the middle – an indication of what was to come in the next stanza.
In the third and final round, the Filipino strawweight launched another beautifully-timed straight left that exploded on Bryan’s jaw, slumping the Brazilian to the canvas. As Doliguez walked over to continue his attack, Coste intervened, preventing any further damage.
Ramon Gonzales makes statement
Filipino karatedo Ramon Gonzales came up victorious against ONE debutatant Liu De Li Ge Ri Hu as referee Olivier Coste waved the bout off officially at the 1:52 minute mark of the second round.
With the victory, Gonzales improves his record to 2-2.
In the opening stanza, “The Bicolano” dominated the striking department as expected, keeping Liu hesitant and cautious outside of his powerful high kicks and thunderous punching combinations. Liu was incredibly wary of Gonzales’ power, as he showed perhaps a little too much respect for the Filipino’s striking prowess.
At the start of the second round, Gonzales continued his stand-up dominance, putting the pressure on Liu to engage. After “The Little Squirrel” caught a high kick, the Chinese martial artist used the momentum to take Gonzales to the ground, but it was Gonzales who would end up in side mount.
Finding himself in advantageous position on the mat, the Filipino worked to finish, showcasing a new grappling dimension to his overall martial arts skill set.
As he caught Liu’s arm too close to his head, “The Bicolano” used the opening and defensive lapse to work an arm-triangle choke, securing the tap almost immediately as the submission was locked in.
It was an impressive win for Gonzales, who scored the first victory of his ONE Championship career. After falling in previous contests, he was aiming to make a statement, and that he did with a complete performance.
Stories and Photos lifted from ONEFC.com
