Adriano Moraes says Geje Eustaquio ‘a true warrior’ for overcoming bizarre knee bar
Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—The third fight in the trilogy between Adriano Moraes and Geje Eustaquio for the ONE world flyweight title fulfilled it promise of bringing the fireworks.
There was no shortage of action in the fight that Moraes eventually won via unanimous decision to take the belt in the main event of ONE: Hero’s Ascent Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Article continues after this advertisementBoth fighters displayed stellar striking and grappling but there was one submission hold that became the highlight of the fight when Moraes locked Eustaquio from below and pulled the former champion’s left leg over his head.
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Moraes (18-3) said there really is no proper name for the submission hold that he pulled off near the end of the fourth round, but it was a hold that left his teammates at American Top Team tapping out.
“Did you see that? Man, I love that position and I like to call it the ‘Mikinho Knee Bar From the Back,’” said Moraes during the post-fight press conference. “When I go for this position, everybody in training tapped but Geje didn’t.”
Article continues after this advertisementEustaquio (11-7) said he was ready to lose his left knee to Moraes, who owns a 2-1 record against him, instead of tapping out and losing the belt via submission.
“That was a deep knee bar and I’m waiting for Adriano to take my knee off and let him bring it,” said Eustaquio. “But I will never tap. I decided to finish the fight that if it takes five rounds then I will finish it.”
Although, Eustaquio didn’t tap, the hold left an impact on his left knee that Moraes knew factored in the fifth round.
“I didn’t believe it when he didn’t tap and I let him go and try other things,” said Moraes. “When we finished the round he tried to stand up and he felt his knee so I was ‘oh my God I got him.’”
“He didn’t tap, he’s a true warrior. Congratulations to him, he did it,” added Moraes.
