ONE Championship strawweight king Joshua Pacio finally ended his rivalry with archenemy Yosuke Saruta following a first round stoppage win in their trilogy in ONE - “Revolution” on Sept. 24, 2021 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Despite a 20-month hiatus, the 25-year-old Pacio didn’t show ang signs of ring rust as he pummeled Saruta with a barrage of left punches.
Pacio dropped Saruta with a counter overhand right. Saruta quickly got up, but Pacio sent him down with a left hook. Saruta was pinned on the cage and was knocked down yet again by Pacio. The Team Lakay standout then unleashed a series of left punches to the head that forced the referee to stop the fight at the 3:38 mark.
“It’s really about who’s going to find the right opening in this match, and I did it,” said Pacio after the fight. “We’ve been working on all of our strengths and weaknesses. We’re working on our counters as well. We’re working on our offense, and you can see it (in that finish).”
Pacio improved to 20-3, while Saruta fell to 21-10-3.
Pacio’s teammate Lito Adiwang (13-3) continued his ascent in the strawweight division with a unanimous decision win over Chinese Hexigetu (9-5).
Adiwang showcased his impressive striking skills and totally outclassed Hexigetu.
Meanwhile, Cebuano warrior Roel Rosauro (5-4) was unfortunate and lost to James Yang (1-0) via a second round stoppage.
Rosauro survived a deep rear-naked choke by Yang. But in the second round, Yang unleashed a vicious ground-and-pound to stop Rosauro. (EKA)