8 November 2019
By Kevin Estrada
Geje Eustaquio brought the Gravity to Toni Tauru to get his well deserved revenge, three years in the making after scoring a sensational knockout at ONE: Masters of Fate Friday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Inspired by Kevin Belingon’s signature move to knock out Andrew Leone last year, the former ONE Flyweight Champion got out of a huge submission scare, taking down the Finn with a turning back kick to the body in the final round to improve his record to 13-8.
After the fight, Gravity admitted that they have to plan their knockout blow carefully despite the show-stopping finish knowing that even the slightest of margins would mean huge.
“In my past two recent fights, di ko siya na-apply,” he said. “Because of small details.”
Roused by the partisan support after getting out of the jam, Eustaquio held on for more than two minutes trying to avoid the rear-naked choke of Tauru before turning around and got on top to reverse the tide in the opening round.
In the second round, Eustaquio bucked an obvious reach disadvantage, using his speed to get his striking game on point, with the crowd roaring in approval especially the trip kick that floored Dynamite for a while.
With everything behind Gravity, Eustaquio brought the curtains in the final round, tearing Tauru apart with his striking before unleashing a 180-degree kick to the ribs to defuse the Dynamite, forcing referee Kemp Cheng to stop the fight at the 2:11 mark.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @kevinlestrada
