(From Left to Right) Edward Kelly, April Osenio, Danny Kingad, Geje Eustaquio, Honorio Banario, and Eduard Folayang show off their skills at the Burnham Park Athletic Bowl. INQUIRER Photo/EV ESPIRITU @eespirituINQ
If anybody needs a second chance, they may want to give Team Lakay a call.
An undoubtedly famed stable in ONE Championship, Team Lakay currently houses three champions and two of those won their straps by way of rematches.
Geje Eustaquio had two rematches in 2018 with the first one giving him the interim flyweight title and the second one the undisputed World flyweight championship.
READ: Eustaquio shocks Moraes to unify ONE flyweight belts
Dubbed as “The king of the Rematch,” Eustaquio avenged his 2017 loss to Kazakh Kairat Akhmetov in January with a unanimous decision win to earn the interim flyweight belt.
Eustaquio (11-6) then followed it up with a five-round unanimous decision victor over Brazilian star Adriano Moraes in the unification bout to determine the undisputed ONE World flyweight champion in Macau last June.
“They say victory is sweeter the second time around,” said Eustaquio who lost to 2014. “In my case, I usually perform better and come out victorious in rematches because I’ve already gotten a feel for my opponent.”
And before September ended, another Team Lakay fighter joined ONE’s circle of champions when Joshua Pacio (13-2) stunned Japanese veteran Yoshitaka Naito in a five-round unanimous decision win for the World strawweight belt.
Pacio’s win was his fourth straight as he avenged his October 2016 loss to Naito where he tapped to the Japanese fighter’s rear-naked choke 1:33 into the third round of their fight.
READ: Joshua Pacio is the new ONE Strawweight world champion
Before the year ends, though, another Team Lakay champion plans to follow on the footsteps of Pacio and Eustaquio.
Interim bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon will have his rematch against World bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes to become the undisputed king of their division.
Belingon (19-5) is on a six-fight winning streak and his last loss was against Fernandes when the two faced each other in January of 2016.
READ: Belingon gets ONE title rematch vs Fernandes in Singapore
“I am super excited, finally the long wait is over and now I’m fighting Bibiano for the undisputed bantamweight title,” said Belingon who lost after tapping to the Brazilian star’s kimura lock 4:04 into their first fight.
“Ever since the night I lost to him the first time in China, this moment has been all that I have looked forward to,” added Belingon.