ONE Championship athlete Joshua “The Passion” Pacio, 21, of Baguio City, Philippines is not in a hurry and would rather take the long road to a second championship crack than prematurely vie for the gold-plated strap. He shared, “I am willing to wait for the right time.”
“Timing is everything,” Pacio continued. “Every moment has its own purpose. I don’t race to be in line for that belt, but I’m racing to perfection in this sport.”
Pacio earned his lone previous title shot when he defeated gritty Thai grappler Kritsada Kongsrichai via first-round submission in August 2016 to set up a date with ONE Championship’s reigning strawweight kingpin Yoshitaka Naito.
Naito derailed Pacio’s title aspirations in October 2016 as the Japanese champion pulled off a come-from-behind win by submitting the Filipino fighter with a rear-naked choke in the third round to keep the coveted ONE Strawweight World Championship belt around his waist.
Winning ONE Championship’s flyweight top prize was within reach of Pacio as the Filipino mixed martial artist effortlessly stuffed all five takedown attempts of Naito in the first round and peppered his Japanese foe with lunging right hands and spinning back kicks.
Although Naito was able to take him down to the mat in the second period, Pacio was able to inflict damage while defending on his back. But it only took one mistake to crush Pacio’s dream to become the youngest Filipino to win a world title in MMA as Naito latched on a rear-naked choke that ended his undefeated streak.
“It’s not a defeat,” Pacio said. “I viewed as an important lesson. It also served as an inspiration to push myself to the limit. It is an eye-opening experience. Here I am standing in front of you as a matured competitor inside the cage.”
In March 2017, Pacio he scored a huge victory over former ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke by way of split decision. The Filipino MMA fighter shared, “Every martial artist should have the sense of growth.”
“This sport is constantly evolving and every fighter should adapt to changes and improve their overall MMA game,” Pacio continued. “It’s either you adapt or you fail. I learned my lesson, and I chose to adapt for the better.”
On August 5, 2017, Pacio returns to action as he squares off with Hayato Suzuki of Japan on the undercard of “ONE: Kings and Conquerors” in Macao, China. The Japanese contender holds a professional MMA record of 16 wins, 0 loss and 2 draws.
Out of 16 career wins, Suzuki finished 11 of his opponents, including six by submission and five by knockout. He is known as a well-rounded warrior who has the ability to stop his foes with his heavy hands and technical grappling skills.
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