Kairat Akhmetov revisits second Geje Eustaquio fight, cries 'home cooking'

Kairat Akhmetov is one of only three people to have held the ONE flyweight world title and he has split two meetings with the other two fighters. However, ‘The Kazakh’ believes that he should be up 2-0 in his series against Team Lakay’s Geje Eustaquio.

Kairat Akhmetov won their first meeting in 2017 but could not replicate the feat when they faced off for the interim title in 2018.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Kairat Akhmetov revealed his thoughts on his second encounter with the Team Lakay stalwart:

“I won the first bout and as for the second one, I wouldn’t say I lost it. It was in the Philippines and I realized that the local fighter could be given victory after an even fight. But this is the law of sport, and I respect that.

“If the bout was somewhere else, for example my homeland, I would be given victory. Since it was the Philippines, his country, he was given victory. But no problem, I know I’m much stronger than the ones whom I lost to. I hope to meet them in the future and make rematches.”

Eustaquio went on to defeat to Adriano Moraes in 2018’s ONE: Pinnacle of Power to become the undisputed ONE flyweight world champion, avenging an early-career setback to the Brazilian.

However, Moraes won their trilogy in their next outing and defeated Demetrious Johnson at ONE on TNT earlier this year to cement his spot as the top dog in the division.

Meanwhile, Kairat Akhmetov has put in the work and is now riding a three-bout win streak as he prepares to face another prized Team Lakay fighter, Danny Kingad, at ONE: Winter Warriors II. The taped event will be aired this Friday, December 17.

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Kairat Akhmetov grows from losses to Eustaquio and Moraes

To date, the two splits are the only losses on Kairat Akhmetov’s professional MMA record, which includes 27 wins. However, he revealed that there were reasons behind his defeats:

“I was not in my best form with Adriano Moraes and I faced some difficulties. It was the same thing with Eustaquio at the rematch. I never looked for excuses and complained in my interviews. If I lost, I lost. But in fact, I had certain issues: I didn’t manage to do a normal camp.”

Kairat Akhmetov used his losses to fuel his motivation to improve even more, despite his already impressive career resume:

“After those losses, I realized I had to work very hard to remain in sport. I found a new coach and joined a new club. I grew very much after those losses. It gave me much motivation. I started working on my errors. I worked and polished my skills a lot. Now, I’m not the kind of fighter I was before. I grew a lot."

A win against Danny Kingad will provide a wealth of opportunities for Kairat Akhmetov, be it settling scores or facing a legend in Demetrious Johnson.