MANILA, Philippines – A tough test awaits Filipino fighter Eugene Toquero as he squares off with former flyweight titleholder Adriano Moraes in the co-headliner of ONE Championship’s “Union of Warriors” event on March 18.
Toquero (8-2) was one of the most active Filipino prizefighter in 2015, having booked in 3 matches that year.
Although it was not a clean sweep for him, Toquero started 2015 with a bang as he took care of Indonesian flyweight Brianata Rosadhi with a volley of vicious elbows to accomplish a first-round stoppage in April.
After bowing down to Asuka “Riku Shibuya” Mikami via unanimous decision in October, Toquero bounced back on a strong note by trouncing Li Wei Bin this past December.
Toquero mauled the Chinese combatant with precision strikes, forcing Li to quit on his stool before the third round.
In the other corner, Moraes (13-2) lost possession of the ONE flyweight belt by yielding to Kairat Akhmetov in November of last year by split decision.
Prior to his razor-thin setback to Akhmetov, the 26-year-old Brazilian was riding high on a 4-fight winning streak, which included wins over Geje Eustaquio and Mikami.
Moraes submitted Eustaquio with a second-round guillotine choke to capture the inaugural ONE flyweight title in September 2014, while he outpointed Mikami via unanimous decision in March 2015.
Meanwhile, Toquero tasted the two losses in his current professional record at the hands of Eustaquio and Mikami.
Aside from Eustaquio, another Pinoy stalwart is also slated for ONE: Union of Warriors, which takes place at the Thuwanna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.
Filipino flyweight Robin Catalan (0-1) makes his first ONE Championship appearance against Brazil’s Alex Silva (3-1).
Fighting a Catalan is not new to Silva as he faced and defeated Robin’s brothers Rene and Ruel by first-round submission inside the ONE Championship cage.
ONE: Union of Warriors is headlined by Myanmar’s Aung La N Sang, who locks horns with Mohamed Ali of Egypt. – Rappler.com