Team Lakay Stars Announced For ONE Championship's Evening Show In Manila

The Philippines' biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) stars are set to competed under the bright lights after the announcement of four Team Lakay representatives joining ONE 164, which will be headlined by their stablemate and reigning strawweight king Joshua Pacio's title defense against Jarred Brooks.

The International Business Times has learned that former ONE flyweight champion Geje Eustaquio, No. 4-ranked flyweight Danny Kingad, rising bantamweight star Jeremy Pacatiw, and women's atomweight mainstay Jenelyn Olsim have all been booked for the event.

Eustaquio will be looking to extend his winning streak to three when he takes on China's "Wolf Warrior" Hu Yong as he hopes to climb back into the flyweight rankings and possibly fight for a title if he can prove that he still has a lot left in the tank.

Hu, a product of the promotion's "ONE Hero Series," is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Yuya Wakamatsu in December of last year.

A win against "Gravity" Eustaquio will regain some of the momentum that Hu lost.

In Kingad's case, he will be defending his spot on the rankings against Gurdarshan Mangat as the Canadian has won four of his last fights and is on a two-fight winning streak–his lone loss being against hard-hitting striker Reece McLaren back in 2019.

Kingad's last foray into the ONE Championship cage was an unsuccessful one as his striking was stifled by Kairat Akhmetov's strong wrestling game.

For Olsim, a spot in the women's atomweight rankings could be the reward when if she defeats China's Meng Bo.

Meng will look to arrest her two-fight losing streak with a victory against the Filipina striker who split her last two assignments–a loss to Ritu Phogat in October 2021 and a win against Julie Mezabarba this past June.

Last but not least, MMA fans can expect Pacatiw to come out of the gate swinging as he guns for a statement victory against Myanmar's Tial Thang.

Pacatiw saw his momentum come to a screeching halt when No. 2-ranked bantamweight Fabricio Andrade fired off a mean knee to his body that left him crumpled up on the floor while the Brazilian eventually fought for the title.

Should the Filipinos, especially Pacio, all go home with victories at ONE 162, it ensures that the hometown crowd will be able to sleep soundly knowing that they defended their home turf.

At the same time, it will help to again boost Team Lakay's already massive credibility for developing world-class fighters to even greater heights.