JOSHUA “The Passion” Pacio’s quest to regain the ONE Strawweight World Championship begins.
And his road to redemption starts at ONE Fight Night 15: Tawanchai vs. Superbon on Oct. 7 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Pacio will take on the dangerous Mansur Malachiev as he looks to reaffirm his position as the top contender to Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks.
It’s the dawn of a new era for Pacio with this match serving as a chance for him to showcase what he has learned over the past few months.
From his two-month journey in the United States with Eduard ‘Landslide’ Folayang where they trained with elite coaches in Greg Jackson and Mike Winklejohn of Jackson Wink MMA and Rafael Cordeiro of King’s MMA, to the new faces guiding him in Lions Nation MMA in multi-medalled Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Gibran Langbayan and veteran striking coach Don-Don Colas, it’s a golden opportunity for the 27-year-old Igorot stalwart to display how much he has improved.
“Mas confident na ako ngayon sa ground. Alam ko na yung mga dapat gawin sa kung anong situations na mapuntahan ko at masasabi ko na handa na ako makipagsabayan ulit sa grappling game,” he said.
Malachiev should be a great acid test for Pacio.
A lifelong wrestler from the Russian region of Dagestan, the stud from Universal Fighters impressed in his promotional debut when he submitted Jeremy ‘The Jaguar’ Miado in the first round of their match at ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov last June.
This strawweight showdown joins a loaded card headlined by the clash between two of the most dangerous strikers on the planet fighting for the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title as reigning divisional king Tawanchai PK Saenchai braces for the challenge of Superbon Singha Mawynn, who is seeking to become a two-sport ONE World Champion.