Eustaquio battles Hu, Kingad takes on Mangat in ONE 164

 SPORTS

Carlo Qunito

ONE Championship’s return to the Philippines just got more stacked with four fighters from Team Lakay being added to ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks at the Mall of Asia Arena set on the night of 3 December. 
    Former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio and current #4-ranked flyweight Danny “The King” 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 in The Home of Martial Arts as he takes on “Wolf Warrior” Hu Yong in a match that could prove that “The Gravity” 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’s 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 King” 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 25-year-old. 
    He won’t have it any easier in this match as he takes on Mangat who’s also knocking on the door of ranked contenders, having won his last two bouts – and four of his last five entering this contest. 
    Also added in the Manila card is promising atomweight Jenelyn Olsim and bantamweight Jeremy “The Jaguar” Pacatiw, two young fighters from the Northlands who are out to prove that they also belong among 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. 
    Meanwhile, Pacatiw takes on 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. 
    The four Team Lakay stars will join the last remaining title holder in the Philippines in the card as ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio takes on Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks in the main event of the night.