Four more Team Lakay fighters were added to the stacked ONE 164 card when the “Home of Martial Arts” returns to the Mall of Asia Arena on Dec. 3.
With reigning ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio facing top challenger Jarred Brooks in the main event, Cordilleran fighters will also see action in the supporting bouts.
Former ONE flyweight world champion Geje Eustaquio and current fourth-ranked flyweight Danny Kingad are set to shake up the 135-pound division, as they face different foes in the long-awaited Manila card.
Eustaquio targets his third straight victory, as he takes on Hu Yong in a match that could prove that the Igorot fighter is far from done in the division he once ruled.
The 33-year-old Filipino is coming off impressive back to back wins, starting with his body kick finish of Toni Tauru before running circles around Min Jong Song to prove that he is still continuously evolving.
Hu is a successful alumnus of ONE Hero Series and will be looking to bounce back following a decision loss to Eustaquio’s old tormentor Yuya Wakamatsu and prove that new blood is taking over the division.
Kingad, on the other hand, will have his hands full as he takes on the in-form Gurdarshan Mangat in a match where he’ll basically be defending his fourth spot in the rankings.
The 25-year-old Kingad suffered a unanimous decision loss to Kairat Akhmetov in his last outing where the Kazakh’s wrestling and control proved to be too much for the Lakay fighter.
Added in the Manila card is promising atomweight Jenelyn Olsim and bantamweight Jeremy Pacatiw, two young fighters from the highlands who are out to prove they also belong in ONE’s long line of contenders.
Olsim takes on the hard-hitting Meng Bo in the atomweight scrap, with both women looking to break into the rankings with an impressive showing in this clash.
Pacatiw will face Tial Thang, as he looks to rebound after a disappointing finish against Fabricio Andrade where he got folded by the Brazilian’s knee in the first round of their clash. – Harley F. Palangchao
