Eugene Toquero - ONE Championship (Photo : Sherdog.com/ONE Championship)
It was a bitter end for Filipino flyweight contender Eugene Toquero. A tremendous effort brought him to the brink of victory against a former champion who was perhaps ripe for the picking, but in the end, the charismatic flyweight fell just short of triumph.
Toquero (8-3-0) of Manila, Philippines battered once flyweight titleholder Adriano "Mikinho" Moraes (14-2-0) of Brazil from pillar to post last Friday night at ONE: UNION OF WARRIORS, which took place at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.
Although he was unsuccessful in his bid to defeat a big-name opponent, Toquero did exactly what he said he was going to do before the fight, which was to use his superior Muay Thai to pummel Moraes into submission.
What resulted was a grotesque mask of blood and a mangled face for Moraes, which wasn't enough however, to deter the Brazilian who showcased the heart of a true warrior.
"I thought I had the fight won, but I made a mistake," said Toquero, who at one point forced Moraes against the cage with a flying knee that landed right on the button.
Up to that instance, Moraes had been successful in bringing the fight to the ground although he had difficulty containing the Filipino as Toquero blasted the Brazilian with vicious bombs with his back on the canvas.
A knee to the face shortly after had Moraes reeling against the cage, damaged and all but done. But like a real champion, Moraes regained his composure and in a last ditch effort, banked on his money-maker - his world-class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Moraes, a BJJ black belt, lifted Toquero up five feet in the air and slammed him down to the mat, stepped over his left arm to prevent anymore damage to the eye, and worked on a fight-ending D'Arce choke from half-guard -- all within a minute of being in real danger of actually losing the bout.
"It was a good fight. Maybe next time, with more practice and more training, I can reach my goal to become champion," said Toquero, who had certainly wanted to test himself against a former champion of Moraes' caliber.
"I saw that his nose was broken, there was so much blood and one eye was closed. But I made some mistakes. Next time, I will learn from my mistake. He was able to recover a little bit," Toquero added.
Toquero had Moraes beat on more than one occasion. The Filipino however, failed to finish the fight and instead, even alerted referee Olivier Coste of Moraes' cut eye and busted nose, allowing Moraes to recover.
"It's a lesson. Maybe next time ONE Championship gives me another chance to fight a contender," said Toquero.
Win or lose, Toquero brings the fans to the edge of their seats. That, he says, is the reason he fights -- to bring joy to those who watch and enjoy the sport.
Toquero may have been real close to catapulting his stock with a win over Moraes but let it slip through his fingers. It's an experience he won't soon forget, one that could haunt him for the rest of his career. But in one respect, Toquero did accomplish what he set out to do.
Each strike thrown by Toquero was thrown with purpose, and he put Moraes' mettle to the test more than once.
"Sorry I lost but I hope I made you happy with my fight. That's me. Everytime I fight, I give entertainment to the fans," said Toquero, vowing to return a better, wiser fighter. "I'll fight anyone in the promotion."
