ONE Championship: Team Lakay look to go 3-0 at first Manila event for 2019
Credit to Author: Tempo Online| Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2019 08:43:28 +0000
Martin Nguyen (L) poses with Team Lakay Members Eduard Folayang, Honorio Banario, Coach Mark Sangiao, and Joshua Pacio. (ONE Championship photo)
Filipino mixed martial arts stable Team Lakay will look to keep their momentum riding high when ONE Championship heads to Manila for the first time in 2019 for ONE: HERO’S ASCENT on Friday, 25 January at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The La Trinidad, Benguet-based squad will field three representatives for the Singapore-based martial arts promotion’s second event of the year, all of them eyeing important wins in front of a hometown crowd.
ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio will be topping the bill as he puts his title on the line against former champion Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes of Brazil in a highly-anticipated rubber match.
Moraes was dominant in their first encounter way back in September 2014, with the Brazilian submission specialist having his way with Eustaquio, winning via second-round submission to capture the inaugural ONE Flyweight World Championship.
In 2018, Eustaquio would have his retribution by defeating Moraes via split decision to become the undisputed ONE Flyweight World Champion and evening their series at one win apiece
The coveted flyweight crown will once again be up for grabs as Eustaquio and Moraes lock horns for a third time at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT.
Also on the card, former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario figures in a ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix quarter-final matchup against returning undefeated Hawaiian Lowen Tynanes.
Banario is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Rahul Raju back in December and tries to get another winning streak going as he meets a tough test in Tynanes.
Inactive since April 2016, Tynanes makes his long-awaited return to the ONE Championship cage and looks to continue his winning ways against a former champion in Banario.
The winner of this sure-to-be exciting lightweight affair advances to the semifinals of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix and inches closer to a shot at the ONE Lightweight World Championship.
In a crucial flyweight contest, Danny “The King” Kingad targets his fourth consecutive win when he meets Japanese submission machine Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada.
Since losing to then-champion Moraes back in November 2017, the young Kingad has been on a tear, winning his last three assignments, all by convincing unanimous decision.
In his most recent win, Kingad survived an early scare to dominate Yuya Wakamatsu en route to a unanimous decision win last September.
After a close loss to Reece McLaren in his ONE Championship debut, Wada bounced back in spectacular fashion by submitting Filipino veteran Eugene Toquero in just 52 seconds.
The Japanese star will try to do the same against another Filipino contender in Kingad.
With the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix drawing closer, a win for either Kingad or Wada could play into their participation in the prestigious tournament.