Joshua Pacio’s retention of the ONE strawweight MMA world title at The Inner Circle 21 on Friday wasn’t just a physical test. It was a referendum on experience, and “The Passion” passed with flying colors.
When Mansur Malachiev dragged him to the canvas and sank in a face crank early in round one, Pacio didn’t freeze. He’d been in dark places before, more times than most fighters his age could claim.
The Filipino superstar worked free, reversed the position, and put the Russian to sleep with his own rear-naked choke at the 4:23 mark to move his record to 24-5.
For Pacio, none of that was an accident.
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“Like what I’ve said, my edge over Mansur is I’ve been fighting in championship rounds since I was 22 years old,” he told ONE Championship after becoming an eight-time strawweight MMA world champion. “Now, I’m 30. And that’s my edge coming up to this fight: my experience and, of course, the perseverance and, of course, my faith.”
Pacio has experienced eight years of title fights, along with countless moments of adversity absorbed and overcome.
Against Malachiev in their rematch, every one of those battles paid dividends, and he brought the gold back to the Philippines.
Joshua Pacio reflects on incredible title defense against Mansur Malachiev
Joshua Pacio has been in grueling five-round wars before.
While his rematch with Mansur Malachiev only lasted one round, he admits it was undeniably one of the hardest title defenses he’s ever had.
“Speechless, I guess,” he told ONE in the interview. “Hard work pays off. And I don’t know if I’m gonna cry or what, but I know it’s just hard work pays off: the months, the minutes, the hours that you spend in the gym. Like, it pays off; that’s it.”
The full replay of The Inner Circle is available on demand for members via live.onefc.com
Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein