ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio delivered another stunning performance last Friday, July 10, at the promotion’s The Inner Circle 21 card, where he submitted Mansur Malachiev late in the opening round via rear-naked choke. If one were to only read the headlines, it would seem as if “The Passion” had little trouble against Malachiev. However, the 34-year-old challenger nearly took the gold from Pacio following a dangerous rear-naked choke attempt of his own midway through the bout.
Pacio is no stranger to comeback wins at this point in his career—some might even say that it has already become his signature. But one thing is clear: Pacio currently stands head and shoulders above his fellow Filipino MMA stars. Watching and comparing the Pacio of today to the raw-but-already-talented kid who first broke onto the ONE Championship scene in 2016, the difference is night and day.
Elevating the Ground Game
Striking remains Pacio’s bread and butter, with his opponents always wary of his explosive offense on the feet, which is why they tend to start their fights slowly and attempt to control the pace in their favor. While he has had little trouble implementing his will in the stand-up game, one of the most important developmental steps he has taken is focusing heavily on his ground game.
Sure, he has a couple of submission wins to his name during his decade-long tenure in ONE, but his pivotal trip to the United States in mid-2023 alongside Filipino MMA legend and Lions Nation MMA founder Eduard Folayang, coupled with the arrival of Prof. Gibran Langbayan as their gym’s new BJJ coach, propelled him to even greater heights.
In his ONE 171 trilogy fight with Jarred Brooks, Pacio showed off his growing command of the ground game by masterfully fending off Brooks’ many submission attempts in the first round, which eventually led to a surprising TKO finish in the second round off vicious ground-and-pound strikes to become the undisputed king of the division.
A Legacy in the Making
At just 30 years old, holding an impressive 15-5 record with 10 wins via finish, Pacio should already be considered one of the greatest Filipino combat sports athletes of all time. In that same vein, he knows he can accomplish even more on the global stage, and fans around the world are excited to see what mountain he decides to climb next.
