“The Passion” Joshua Pacio, 27, of La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines is ready to earn his first win since losing ONE Championship’s men’s strawweight title in mixed martial arts. It is not going to be an easy task as he is facing an undefeated MMA fighter.
Pacio won the title on September 22, 2018, lost it on January 19, 2019 and regained it on April 12, 2019. He successfully defended the title on November 8, 2019, on January 31, 2020 and on September 24, 2021 but lost it again on December 3, 2022.
Training at Lions Nation MMA in La Trinidad, Pacio is preparing for his next fight since his most recent loss. He currently holds a professional MMA record of 20 wins and 4 losses.
ONE Championship will hold “ONE Fight Night 15” at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on October 7, 2023. One of the matches is a strawweight bout between Pacio and Mansur Malachiev, 32, of Moscow, Russia.
Both Pacio and Malachiev are 5’5″ tall. The Rusian MMA fighter currently has 11 wins and 0 loss.
On June 9, 2023, Malachiev made his ONE Championship debut at “ONE Fight Night 11” at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium where he submitted “The Jaguar” Jeremy Miado, 30, of Albay, Philippines via D’Arce choke. Pacio will be Malachiev’s second opponent in the promotion.
In June 2023, Pacio and other ONE Championship athletes founded Lions Nation MMA. Recently, the team collaborated with Iron Bunny Philippines, an independent apparel brand established in 2015 by entrepreneur Ricky Enriquez and digital marketer Vir Moore Moranta.
“It is truly a dream come true to collaborate with the biggest names in Philippine MMA and we are immensely grateful to Lions Nation MMA for entrusting our brand with this opportunity,” Enriquez stated. “We promise to continue our unwavering support for Philippine MMA and its dedicated stakeholders, both at the local level and on the global stage.”
Among Pacio’s Lions Nation MMA teammates are “The Landslide” Eduard Folayang, 39, of Baguio City, Philippines and “The Graceful Igorot” Jenelyn Olsim, 26, of Bokod, Benguet. Olsim will fight “Shadow Cat” Jihin Radzuan, 25, of Johor Bahru, Malaysia at “ONE Friday Fights 35” at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on September 29, 2023 and Folayang will have his rematch with Amir Khan, 28, of Singapore at “ONE Fight Night 14” at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on September 30, 2023.
CONAN Daily 