"That fight has been wanting to happen for almost two years" - Gurdarshan Mangat on targeting Geje Eustaquio

Gurdarshan Mangat is one of the fastest-rising stars in ONE Championship’s stacked flyweight division. Interestingly, 'Saint Lion' knows the best opponent who could take him to the next step in his career.

The Indian-Canadian fighter called out Geje Eustaquio following his win against Yodkaikaew Fairtex at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen earlier this month at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Mangat knows that a fight and a win over the former ONE flyweight world champion is bound to elevate his name and possibly push him into the top five of the division.

In an interview with Dylan Bowker, Mangat said his fight against Eustaquio has been a long time coming and he wants nothing more but to finally get to take on the Filipino star:

“That fight has been wanting to happen for almost two years now, two and a half years. We’ve been scheduled two, three times now… He’s fought Adriano [Moraes], he’s beaten Adriano [Moraes] and if I beat him I think that cements where I belong and where I should be heading That’s the statement I wanna make with that.”

Mangat recalled the circumstances that led to their bout being cancelled for the first time. Both of them contracted COVID-19 the past year just days before they were supposed to fight.

Mangat tested positive for the virus a couple of days before he was set to fly to Singapore for their supposed first fight. Eustaquio then yielded a positive result in May. Eventually, Mangat ended up taking on Roshan Mainam in a catchweight bout:

“The first time, I got COVID literally 48 hours before my flight. The second time we made it to Singapore and he got COVID the night before and that’s why I fought Roshan in the last fight. I had to move up a weight class but it was supposed to be him [Eustaquio] and now hopefully we can do it in this third time out.”

Mangat is enjoying a strong run of form in ONE Championship, going 4-1 in the organization. Eustaquio, meanwhile, is 3-1 in his past four fights.

Catch the entire interview below:

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Gurdarshan Mangat sees an exciting match against Eustaquio

Gurdarshan Mangat knows that a matchup between him and Eustaquio is sure to be an absolute barnburner once they step inside the circle. With such anticipation, Mangat even compared their situation to the one between the UFC's Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

The Nurmagomedov-Ferguson fight is already part of mixed martial arts lore after their matchup was booked and canceled five separate times.

Check out Gurdarashan Mangat's walk out below:

According to Gurdarashan Mangat, the more the anticipation builds up, the more excitement there is to be seen when they do finally meet. In terms of style, both fighters can end fights both on the ground and on the feet.

Of Mangat’s 17 professional wins, 10 are equally divided between knockouts and submissions. Eustaquio, meanwhile, has three knockouts and two submissions to his name.

“We’re like that Tony Ferguson and Khabib of ONE Championship. Hopefully, it happens, it’s a really fun fight for fans from both sides.”