MACAU – Geje Eustaquio shrugged off an accusation that he tapped out midway through the ONE flyweight championship bout that he won against Adriano Moraes in Pinnacle of Power on Saturday night.
Eustaquio was locked in a reverse rear naked choke by Moraes in the third of their five-round title fight when the Brazilian’s corner complained about seeing the Filipino standout tapping out with a closed fist.
But Eustaquio denied the allegation.
“No, no, no. Tap is not that way. I was punching. That’s a punch,” the Baguio native insisted after the fight that ended with him unifying the flyweight belts. “And I said a while back, if I get caught, I’ll still slip (off) it. That’s a choke, it’s not an armbar. I will slip off it. I will have the pride to slip off that choke.”
Eustaquio has a history of tapping out to Moraes, having lost via guillotine choke to the Brazilian in a second-round submission in their first meeting in September 2014.
Eustaquio was doubly cautious in their rematch.
“He said I’m tapping; ‘Honestly, you’re tapping,’ he was telling me after the fight,” Eustaquio said of Moraes. “But we have the video. We got the best referee in ONE Championship in Olivier Coste standing on our side.”
“I bet I wasn’t tapping. I will slip off that choke,” he stressed.
Eustaquio escaped the submission attempt and eventually finished strong as the fight went the limit, adding proof to his growing reputation as the King of Rematch.
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