ONE Championship fighter Joshua Pacio, 21, of Baguio City, Philippines is competing again in Macao, China. He is training out of Team Lakay in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines.

On August 13, 2016, Pacio faced Kritsada Kongsricai of Thailand at “ONE: Heroes of the World” at the Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macao in the flyweight division. The Filipino mixed martial artist submitted his Thai opponent via rear-naked choke.

“I love fighting in Macao,” Pacio said. “The venue is so awesome. It’s truly world-class.”

“Furthermore, there are a lot of Filipinos living and working there,” Pacio continued. “Whenever I compete there, it feels like I am fighting back home. The energy is palpable. I can’t wait to be back.”

On October 7, 2016, Pacio unsuccessfully challenged ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka Naito of Japan in Yangon, Myanmar. On March 11, 2017, the Filipino MMA fighter defeated Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke of Thailand in another strawweight bout in Bangkok, Thailand.

“There is always a room for improvement,” Pacio shared. “Although I won against Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke last March, there is still an urgency to improve my skills and arsenal further after the fight. This time, we enhanced timing and precision. We added speed as well as proper executions of game plan.”

On August 5, 2017, Pacio will face Hayato Suzuki of Japan at “ONE: Kings and Conquerors” at the Cotai Arena in Cotai. They will battle it out in the flyweight division.

“It’s going to be an action-packed fight,” Pacio said. “I can’t be complacent. Moreover, I have to be two steps or three steps ahead of him.”