
After a successful ONE Championship comeback, Team Lakay's Geje Eustaquio expressed desire to return to the Circle as soon as possible.
The Team Lakay flyweight contender is riding on a two-match win streak after defeating Korean opponent Song Min Jong in ONE: Inside the Matrix III at the Singapore Indoor Stadium recently.
Eustaquio showed no ring rust and scored a unanimous decision over Jong. But the Igorot warrior knew he could've ended the fight with an explosive finisher.
"Para sakin, the next thing I need to do is to get back to the gym immediately and train again," said Eustaquio. "And improve and assess yung mga errors ko the last time. My job is to become a better athlete as time goes on."
Among the fighters surfacing for Eustaquio's next match is Filipino-Australian Reece McLaren. After beating Finland's Aleksi Toivonen via technical knockout, McLaren wanted to challenge Eustaquio or have a rematch with Danny Kingad of Team Lakay as well.
Eustaquio knew well that it's not his job to choose his next opponent, leaving the task to ONE Championship. But backing down is not also an option for the former flyweight champion.
"My thoughts on that is they belong to their rank 5. They can square it out. If God permits then why not? If ONE Championship will allow that competition to happen, then let’s go. I’m open to it," added Eustaquio.
Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao, meanwhile said Eustaquio's recent win is vital for another crack at the title shot.
"Para makabalik ulit siya sa top and para makuha yung belt. Yung inaasam asam nanaman na belt. Syempre yun yung number one na goal nila, kunin ulit yung belt and to be on top. So hopefully, malapit na para makalaro si Geje sa belt," said Sangiao.
Eustaquio echoed his mentor's sentiments, reiterating that his drive and passion for the sport didn't change since he first stepped in the Circle en route to the flyweight title.
Despite the exclusion from the Top 5 ranking, Eustaquio said he'll just prove it otherwise by taking down more fighters in the stacked division.
"very athlete dreams to become a world champion. I’ve been a world champion and I want to tell everyone that the desire, the fire is always in my heart to become a world champion again."