Former ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio is looking to reclaim the divisional throne, and his journey starts this weekend.
At ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov, this Friday, October 6, ‘The Passion’ is set to take on #5-ranked Mansur Malachiev in a strawweight MMA clash inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and a win is crucial for both men.
Joshua Pacio exerts confidence before ONE Fight Night 15 clash with Mansur Malachiev
Pacio stands as the stacked weight bracket’s most dominant titleholder, and he was hoping to get a rematch with Jarred Brooks after dropping the World Title to the American in a five-round war at ONE 164 last December. Nonetheless, he isn’t opposed to having to prove that he deserves first crack at the reigning king’s belt by taking out an emerging contender. Malachiev enters ONE Fight Night 15 with a perfect 11-0 professional slate, and he made it clear that he’s coming for the divisional crown by snapping Jeremy Miado’s four-fight win streak in his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 11 this past June.
Pacio is aware of the threat his upcoming opponent will present, but he is confident that his experience will pay dividends on the night. “I think [Malachiev is] a pressure fighter. We saw it against Miado. Jeremy caught him with a good cross, and he got rocked, but he kept going. He kept gunning for that double-leg takedown because his aim was to control Miado and submit him,” he told ONE in an interview.
“Even in his fights in Eagle FC [where Malachiev became a champion], he was a monster wrestler. He’s also very good at putting together chains of submissions, so he’s certainly a high-level grappler,” he continued. “But I believe I’ve already fought the best wrestler in my division, and that is Jarred Brooks. This gives me more confidence to face Mansur. I believe I have more tools than him in MMA.”
The loss to Jarred Brooks rekindled the fire for improvement in Pacio
The Lions Nation MMA representative says his loss to Brooks last year pushed him to improve his skill set and rethink his game plan against high-level grapplers like Malachiev. Taking all the lessons he learned from his last promotional outing, Pacio is confident that he has the necessary tools to neutralize his upcoming opponent’s best attacks. “It’s more than just the skills when you ask what I’ve learned from that loss against Jarred Brooks. It’s more the mental aspect and the importance of being confident in a match. Looking at that fight, I was very stagnant. I was just waiting for him to shoot for a takedown and defend, so I was really limited,” the 27-year-old recalled.
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“If I stop Malachiev’s takedowns, great. If I don’t, then now I know what to do. That’s the most important thing. Nothing’s gonna happen if you keep saying to yourself, ‘Don’t get taken down, don’t get taken down,” he continued. “The most important thing is knowing what to do whatever your position is in the fight – be it on the bottom, on top, or standing. Going into this fight, I can say that I’m confident because I know what to do whether I’m on the bottom defending or on the top.” ONE Fight Night 15 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, October 6. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and is free for all Prime Video subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.
