Former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio’s Comeback Against Mansur Malachiev Confirmed for ONE Fight Night 15

A huge strawweight battle has been added to ONE Fight Night 15: Tawanchai vs. Superbon, and it will surely add more excitement to what is already shaping up to be a stacked card.

Former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio begins his quest to reclaim his lost gold when he takes on the #5-ranked divisional contender Mansur Malachiev in a pivotal bout at the Friday, October 6 event.

Joshua Pacio returns to action against Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 15

“The Passion” will compete in his first match since losing the coveted divisional strap to Jarred Brooks this past December. Prior to the disappointing defeat, the Filipino star was on a sensational 8-1 run that included six impressive finishes and three successful World Title defenses. He will look to open a new chapter in his career when he competes under a new team for the first time. The former Team Lakay athlete recently founded Lions Nation MMA with former teammates Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belinon, and Jeremy Pacatiw, among others, and he’ll be looking to score a big win for his new stable.

The Baguio, Philippines native will immediately be put to the test in trying to achieve that goal, however. Malachiev sports a pristine 11-0 record, and he has collected wins in various promotions, including in MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle Fighting Championship. Arriving at ONE’s global stage this past June at ONE Fight Night 11, the Dagestan-born fighter immediately made a statement by snapping Jeremy Miado’s four-fight winning streak with a first-round submission victory, earning him his spot in the rankings.

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Facing Pacio will be an excellent opportunity for the Universal Fighters representative to further climb the rankings and solidify his claim to challenge Brooks for the World Title. “The Monkey God” took out ranked fighters one after the other on his way to conquering Pacio, and he will appreciate a new challenge in his first World Title defense. Apart from the Filipino fighter, Brooks has wins over the #2-ranked Bokang Masunyane and the #3-ranked Hiroba Minowa.

Mansur Malachiev has never crossed paths with the former champion 

Malachiev and the current #4-ranked contender, Gustavo Balart, remain the only fighters that the American hasn’t faced yet in the divisional rankings, so a win for the Russian fighter will be essential if he wants to stay in the World Champion’s crosshairs.

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But Pacio, the longest-reigning strawweight king in ONE’s history, will undoubtedly make life difficult for Malachiev right from the opening bell, and their fight could easily steal the show at ONE Fight Night 15.