Pinoys seek title crack in One FC

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos Rey Docyogen and Geje Eustaquio of Team Lakay seek impressive victories to gain a crack at the flyweight title in the ONE Fighting Championship: Rise to Power on May 31 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

Docyogen, 30, vows to bounce back from a forgettable second round win via guillotine choke to Shinichi Kojima in the ONE FC: Return of Warriors last Feb. 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The loss was his first ever after starting out his mix   ed martial arts career with 10 straight wins.

Docyogen will have a chance to redeem himself when he faces Japanese shooto champion Yasuhiro Urushitani, who is as eager to get back on track following back-to-back losses in the ONE FC stage and improve his 19-4-6 (win-loss-draw) record.

“I will go for a win and not disappoint my country,” said Docyogen in Filipino.

Eustaquio, in contrast, came out impressive in his ONE FC debut after dominating Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Alex Silva. The win  boosted his stock but he will need an equally impressive triumph over dangerous Andrew Leone to gain the title crack.

In Leone, Eustaquio will fight someone who is known for his world class jiu-jitsu and grappling skills but also someone who has fought some of the best fighters in the region, including reigning ONE FC bantamweight king Soo Chul Kim, currently sidelined by injury.

Interestingly, Kojima, the same fighter who dealt Docyogen his only career loss, has earned the right to challenge for the ONE FC world flyweight title against whoever comes out impressive in the Docyogen-Urushitani and Eustaquio-Leone bouts.

Docyogen and Eustaquio hope to steal the limelight from their more illustrious countrymen Honorio Banario, Kevin Belingon and Eduard Folayang, who will headline ONE FC’s Manila return.