Gurdarshan Mangat wants Geje Eustaquio

Gurdarshan Mangat is slowly creeping into the upper echelon of flyweights in ONE Championship after going 4-1 in his first five matches in the promotion. With momentum behind him, the Indian-Canadian grappler has called out possibly his biggest opponent yet.

Mangat scored a valiant split decision win over Yodkaikaew Fairtex at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen last Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Following his victory, Mangat didn’t waste any time calling out former ONE flyweight world champion Geje Eustaquio.

To further drive home the point, ’Saint Lion’ used both his in-ring interview with commentator Mitch Chilson and the post-fight interview to call out Eustaquio.

Gurdarshan Mangat said that he and Eustaquio were supposed to have a match together in the past but the bout was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, a meeting between the two is seemingly inevitable in the current climate.

He said:

"I think I'm there. The things that I want, the thing is the reason, that Geje has been calling me out and I've been calling him out is because this fight been scheduled almost two, three times now. I think it's an exciting fight other than that, and also I know that he's beat Adriano [Moraes] and as the champion, so I want to beat the former champion.”

Eustaquio held the ONE flyweight world title in 2018 during Team Lakay’s run of dominance in the promotion. ‘Gravity’ was one of four fighters from the famed Filipino gym to have held gold that year, with Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, and Joshua Pacio also doing so.

Mangat, who’s slowly making a case for the top five in the flyweight division, believes that a fight against Eustaquio would be a career-defining one for him. Not only will it elevate his stock in the division, but it will also be a huge showdown between the Philippines and India.

“I think that's why he and I are so interested. For me, personally. It's a great contest because it's the Philippines versus India and I fought the Filipinos before and it's always been a great, respectful rivalry."

Gurdarshan Mangat says his win over Yodkaikaew is one of his favorites

Gurdarshan Mangat’s win over Yodkaikaew Fairtex meant more than just another number in his professional record.

Yodkaikaew is an accomplished striker with a Muay Thai and kickboxing record of 60-25-2. He is also a former Max Stadium Muay Thai champion.

Gurdarshan Mangat said in an interview with te South China Morning Post that the Fairtex name will always have an air of mystique around it and defeating someone associated with the stable is surely one for the legacy.

“It’s always the one that happens [that’s] the best one, right, because you’re building up your record. For me, there was something special about beating somebody with the name Fairtex. We all know how famous that name is, so when Sherdog gets updated [with] that W next to Fairtex’s name, it’s cool. It’s a cool legacy thing that I’ll be able to look back at. He’s a true Muay Thai warrior, and I was able to beat him in ONE over here [in Singapore]. So it ranks as the best, and the next one will be even better.”

Catch the full interview below: