By Jun Ray Navarres
Despite being at the top of the Strawweight division, Joshua “The Passion” Pacio continues to keep his body in shape for possible title contentions.
The only Filipino reigning ONE world champion enjoys his throne as he waits for the next challenger in the Home of Martial Arts.
“The wait continues, but as I wait, I’m continuously improving. I’m very excited and I cannot wait to get back inside the ONE Circle to show how well I have improved,” said Pacio.
Pacio has to be at the peak of his game all time, working on his weakness as he proudly hoists the Philippine flag in ONE Championship.
Part of his preparation is scouting threats to his golden plated strap, studying anyone who might challenge him, especially knowing that the division is slowly getting stacked with elite fighters.
That’s why the Filipino warrior is keeping a close eye on the strawweight duel between Alex “Little Rock” Silva of Brazil and Chinese sensation Miao Li Tao at ONE: BATTLEGROUND II on August 13 in Singapore.
“The fight between Miao Li Tao and Alex Silva is surely a thrilling bout. Miao is a very aggressive and explosive athlete, but Alex on the other hand is very dangerous, especially on the ground,” assessed Pacio.
Silva’s prowess in Brazilian jiu-jitsu allowed him to reach the pinnacle of the weight division before when he won the ONE Strawweight World Championship at ONE: WARRIORS OF THE WORLD against Yoshitaka Naito back in December 2017.
Pacio knows this very well taken that Silva is also the last guy to book a ticket with him inside the Circle.
Silva almost snatched the belt from Pacio in ONE: FIRE AND FURY in January last year but the Filipino escaped with a split decision win.
“I learned a lot when I faced Alex last year,” Pacio admired Silva who remains as the no. 5 contender in the division.
“He’s always a dangerous opponent and I think if we’d face each other again, I’d have to show more aggression, much loaded striking, and I’d throw a lot of combinations to be able to eke out a decisive win.”
Meanwhile Miao is a hungry tiger who went out to hunt, winning four of his last six fights. Adding BJJ to his Chinese sanda, it is a statement for his intentions on the belt.
“Miao has improved a lot. His aggressiveness and explosiveness and his wrestling has improved a lot too. But I think one of his weaknesses is his over-aggressiveness,” commented Pacio.
“We saw this when he faced Jeremy Miado. Miado timed a beautiful flying knee that caught him out.”
Nevertheless, Pacio still gives his nod to Silva to win the fight.
“I predict this bout in favor of Alex. I’ll go for Alex because of his years of experience and he’s already a veteran in this field,” he said, giving his fearless forecast. “If you play long with Silva, it’s gonna be ‘Goodnight, Irene!’ as Michael Schiavello puts it.”
With the credentials of both fighters, Pacio believes that the athlete’s improvement just adds to the threat to his position.
“This is the reason why we are more motivated to train and get better every day. And if you try to see the other side of this, you’ll realize that this is not just a competition anymore but martial artists helping each other to level up and be the best version of themselves. So, it only provides a great show every time we step inside the ONE Circle,” concluded Pacio.
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