If there’s still any doubt on Joshua “The Passion” Pacio’s case to get a rematch for the ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship, he just blew them out of the water.
The former champion emphatically delivered a statement with a unanimous decision win over no. 5-ranked Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Asked if he believes this performance should merit him another tussle against Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks, the Lions Nation MMA stalwart stated: “I think so.”
Pacio knew even before the results were announced that he won the fight, delivering a phalanx of kicks and even nearly got a tap off a tight guillotine choke as he was obviously the better fighter in the clash.
“I was throwing heavy shots and I think it’s the damage category [where I won],” he said. “He took me down, but he didn’t damage me from my guard.”
Nonetheless, Pacio remains unsatisfied with that performance despite dealing the Russian grappler his first defeat.
To him, his showing was not up to par to his standards and it only motivates him to further finetune his game more.
“Honestly, I’m not impressed with my performance right now. I need to go to the gym again and work harder. I was not relaxed, I was concentrating on throwing the power shots because I saw the damage and I was eager to throw those power shots, so it really got in my head that I had to finish him,” he said.
“But that’s not how it was supposed to happen. I should have been more relaxed and threw my combinations more confidently.”
As much as Pacio is salivating on the idea of a possible rematch against Brooks, he’s just ready to take on all comers. “If they give me Jarred Brooks, I’ll grab it. Like what I’ve said, if they give me Bokang [Masunyane] or someone else in the top five, I’ll still grab it,” he stated.
What can’t be questioned, though, is his position atop the ONE Athlete Rankings in strawweight MMA where he remains the top contender.