MANILA -- Kairat Akhmetov survived an early barrage from Geje Eustaquio and walked away with a split decision win in the main event of One: Total Victory at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta on Saturday night.
It was, however, a controversial move by Referee Yuji Shimada in the very first round that highlighted the said match to determine the next challenger to Adriano Moraes' One flyweight title.
Eustaquio connected on with two kicks that rocked Akhmetov and appeared to be heading to a shock Round 1 knockout.
Shimada, however, called for an injury timeout that allowed Akhmetov to recover, and Akhmetov adjusted his game in the next two rounds, banking on his ground game to convince two of the three judges to hand him the win.
Despite the controversial loss, Eustaquio thought the iffy officiating had nothing to do to the loss and even said that Akhmetov came in well prepared.
“Kairat Akhmetov was the better man on that night. I give him my respect as a competitor in this sport,” Eustaquio said. “It’s hard to lose my winning momentum. A victory might have catapulted me into a title shot, but I have to accept the outcome of the bout. It’s another lesson. The good thing about this sport is that losses are avenues for competitors to grow. Surely, I will learn from this and be a better martial artist.”
Eustaquio's loss prevented the Philippines from going 3-0 in the said MMA fight card as the other two Filipinos in the event scored huge wins.
Former boxing champ Roy Doliguez stunned Yago Bryan with a knockout with barely two minutes left in their strawweight contest.
Sensing he will be losing the fight, Doliguez landed a huge left straight to Bryan's mid-section that floored the latter for good.
Meanwhile, Ramon Gonzales forced Liu De Li Ge Ri Hu in the second round of their own flyweight bout.
Gonzales, a karate expert, banked on his strikes to keep Liu at bay in Round 1, but it was his improved ground game that prevailed in Round 2, delivering an arm triangle choke on Liu that forced the submission at the 1:52 mark of the said round. (PNA)
