WITH Geje Eustaquio earning a much needed rematch against Kairat Akhmetov for the interim One Championship flyweight title on January 26 at the Mall of Asia Arena, Joshua Pacio gets another break of proving himself inside Asia’s largest MMA promotions.
Pacio, a stable mate of Eustaquio in Team Lakay hopes to get his 2018 on a high note as he lock horns with Pongsiri Mitsatit in the co – main event dubbed ‘Global Superheroes.’
The 22-year-old Pacio of Baguio City is one of the fastest rising martial arts stars from the Philippines and considered among the promotion’s most talented strawweights.
A wushu practitioner with a solid grappling repertoire, Pacio will gun for his 11th victory with nine of his career victories coming by spectacular finish, which includes five wins by submission and four by devastating knockout.
In his most recent bout, Pacio knocked out veteran Roy Doliguez with a second-round spinning back fist. A former ONE strawweight world championship title challenger, Pacio is looking to bring himself back to title contention with another victory.
Pacio’s opponent, 21-year-old Pongsiri Mitsatit is an undefeated martial artist from Chiang Mai, Thailand, and was previously a North Thailand Muay Thai champion with a 72-17 record, which includes 49 KOs.
Since making his professional debut in the cage, the strawweight has amassed an unblemished record of 9 - 0 with seven knockouts and one submission which made an immediate impact in ONE Championship with first-round finishes over Ye Thway Ne and Rabin Catalan.
Included in the ‘Global Superheroes’ undercard are 27-year-old Bulgarian martial artist Sotir Kichukov and China’s Ma Hao Bin.
Yago Bryan of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil meanwhile is set to take on Hayato Suzuki as Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Bruno Pucci will take on Emilio Urrutia in his next contest.