Former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio has been involved in many different battles in his eight years as a professional mixed martial artist.
While all of those wars have helped him grow and improve as an athlete, there is no experience that’s more suited for self-improvement than the experience of losing.
After dropping the belt to Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes in their trilogy bout earlier this year, Eustaquio used that defeat to strengthen his weaknesses and tighten up his game.
Those improvements were showcased in his recent victory over South Korea’s Kim Kyu Sung at ONE: ENTER THE DRAGON, which took place in Singapore on 17 May.
“Losing is one of the best teachers of the sport. I learned a lot from all the matches that I’ve shared with Moraes,” Eustaquio said.
“Wrestling, timing, and speed, those were the things we developed after the Moraes fight. I’m happy I was able to show it against Sung, but in the wrestling department, we have to get back again and be a better wrestler.”
Every time the Filipino has clashed with Moraes, he has found ways to get better.
After losing via submission in their first meeting at ONE: RISE OF THE KINGDOM back in September 2014, “Gravity” knew he had a lot of catching up to do if he wanted to reach the elite level.
With that in mind, he focused on his ground skills and overall game. It paid off when the pair met at ONE: PINNACLE OF POWER last June, as the Baguio City native won the ONE Flyweight World Title from his longtime rival via split decision.
In January, he lost the strap in the finale of their trilogy at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT via unanimous decision.
Eustaquio may have not walked out of that rivalry with the gold, but he’ll be walking away a much better athlete.
“The Moraes trilogy kept me in the pace of this fast-growing sport, as well as with the level of competition,” he acknowledged.
“[The losses] make me hungrier to keep chasing my dreams and it motivates me to prove that I deserve the top spot.”