MANILA, Philippines—Geje Eustaquio knows his reign as champion isn’t without tribulation.
Since winning the ONE World flyweight title in June of 2018, Eustaquio remained idle waiting for a fitting challenger to the belt he won from Adriano Moraes.
And as Eustaquio sat patiently on his throne, ONE brought over one of the most iconic mixed martial artists of all time in Demetrious Johnson.
Johnson was UFC’s flyweight champion and he held on to that belt for more than five years before losing to Henry Cejudo via split decision in April of 2018, but the Mighty Mouse is on a different playing field and Eustaquio’s watching over him like a king atop his tower.
“I am excited to witness Demetrious Johnson’s debut just like the rest of the world,” said Eustaquio. “He is without a doubt one of the greatest, if not the greatest athlete to set foot inside the cage.”
Johnson (27-3) will make his ONE Championship debut on March 31, 2019 in the promotion’s A New Era in Tokyo event that features a stacked card with three World titles at stake.
Welcoming Johnson to ONE is Japan’s Yuya Wakamatsu (10-3) in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix and that’s the fight Eustaquio will be watching intently.
“The Flyweight World Grand Prix will have the best martial artists in the world competing for a shot at my belt,” said Eustaquio (11-6). “It is my job as a champion to watch their every move and study how they do inside the cage.”
There will be eight fighters that will compete in the Grand Prix but ONE has yet to announce the other fighters, nevertheless the promotion promised that it would bring the fireworks ahead of Eustaquio’s title defense.
“The flyweight division is already stacked and talented as it is, the addition of Johnson takes this division to a whole new level,” said Team Lakay’s Eustaquio.
“Literally everybody in my division wants to become a champion and take this belt. I am just as hungry, if not hungrier, to keep what’s mine. I will do everything it takes to keep the belt in the Philippines.”