He had a rough start but he got the job done. Joshua Pacio, a mixed martial arts fighter under the Team Lakay banner, struggled in the first minutes of his fight against Thailand's Kritsada Kongsrichai at the Cotai Arena in Macao, China on Saturday evening (August 13). He was taken down to the mat several times and he was losing the exchanges every time the two combatants go to a clinch. But with under a minute remaining in the first round, Pacio was able to secure a takedown and that was the beginning of the end for the Thai fighter. While on a full mount, Pacio unleashed some vicious ground and pound which prompted Kongsrichai to try and wriggle his way out. Pacio saw his opportunity, took Kongsrichai's back, and went for a rear-naked choke.
With the win, the 20-year-old Pacio extends his winning streak to eight. Turning pro in 2013, Pacio is yet to be beaten inside the MMA cage. His fight with Kongsrichai is his second outing in the ONE Championship promotion. He debuted in the promotion in April of this year, notching a TKO victory over fellow Filipino Rabin Catalan.
Pacio vs. Kongsrichai was on the undercard of
ONE Championship 45: Heroes of the World. Two other Team Lakay fighters - Honorio Banario and Eduard Folayang - were also featured in the card. The event was headlined by a flyweight showdown between Brazil's Adriano Moraes and Kyrgyztan's Tilek Batyrov.
With two wins under his belt, Pacio is now a serious contender in the ONE Championship's strawweight division which currently has Yoshitaka Naito as the champion. Naito got the belt from Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke in May of this year.
