MACAU—It’s safe to say that the fighting careers of Geje Eustaquio and Adriano Moraes will forever be intertwined.
The two were the first fighters to duke it out for the inaugural ONE Championship World flyweight title wherein Moraes took the belt in 2014.
And after four years, the two will face each other once more in a rematch for the undisputed belt.
Eustaquio, who became the interim champion after defeating Kairat Akhmetov for the strap in January of 2018, said the rematch would be the culmination of four years of progress between him and Moraes.
“Adriano, it’s been four years since the last time we fought and this will show the development of how we grew up,” said Eustaquio Thursday at Studio City here in Macau. “There will be no loser in this fight.”
The two will resume their respect-filled rivalry on June 23 in ONE: Pinnacle of Power also at Studio City.
Eustaquio (10-6) got the chance to become the interim champion after Moraes (17-2) got sidelined for almost eight months after submitting Danny Kingad, Eustaquio’s stable mate at Team Lakay, in November of 2017.
Moraes, though, wasn’t the undisputed champion since he got the belt in 2014 after he lost to Akhmetov, a fighter who also defeated Eustaquio, in November 2015.
The Brazilian would settle for an interim title in August 2016 when scored a second round submission victory against Tilek Batyrov and eventually getting back to undisputed status when he beat Akhmetov a year later.
“When I fought Geje for the first time it was a memorable experience because it was the first time to have a flyweight World champion,” said the 29-year-old Moraes whose birthday is 15 days from Eustaquio’s who’s also 29.
“I have to much respect for him because he’s such a good fighter and I have all the respect in the world for him,” added Moraes.
And if Moraes showered Eustaqio with such respect, the Team Lakay member did return the favor.
“He’s also improving as an athlete, he’s developing his ground game, his wrestling, his striking,” said Eustaquio.