Joshua Felix Pacio (born January 10, 1996) is a Filipino

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

Strawweight Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...

division of

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

. He is the three-time and current ONE Strawweight World Champion.

Early life and education

Joshua Pacio is of

Igorot The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera in northern Luzon, Philippines, often referred to by the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples, are an ethnic group composed of nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ...

descent, growing up in La Trinidad,

Benguet Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital cit ...

. He had to learn to be independent at an early age after his father worked overseas to provide for his family. Pacio got exposed to martial arts at the early age of 11, where he started working on his kickboxing, before transitioning to Wushu at age 13. Pacio took up Hotel and Restaurant Management at the

University of the Cordilleras The University of the Cordilleras (UC or UC-BCF; ), formerly known as the Baguio Colleges Foundation (BCF), is a private coeducational university in Baguio, Philippines. Founded by Benjamin R. Salvosa and his wife Evangelina D. Salvosa in 1946 ...

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early mixed martial arts career

Pacio made his debut at Team Lakay Championship 8, where he came away with a first round TKO over Denver Songaben. This would be a start off red-hot six-match winning streak which eventually led to him being signed by

. He made his ONE Championship debut on April 15, 2016 - beating compatriot Rabin Catalan by second-round technical knockout at ONE Championship: Global Rivals at the

Mall of Asia Arena The SM Mall of Asia Arena, also known as the Mall of Asia Arena or the MoA Arena, is an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex, in Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a seating capacity of 15,000 for sporting events and ...

in the Philippines. After beating Kritsada Kongsrichai, Pacio earned his first shot at the

ONE Strawweight World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions , Xiong Jing Nan , align=center , January 20, 2018 , align=center , , align=center , 7 , - ! align=left , Atomweight , Denice Zamboan ...

against

Yoshitaka Naito Yoshitaka Naito (born February 17, 1984) is a Japanese mixed martial artist from Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He is a former two-time ONE Strawweight World Champion. Naito is furthermore a former Shooto World Flyweight (114 lb) Champi ...

at ONE Championship: State of Warriors on October 17, 2016 in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. Pacio came close to being a World Champion at age 20, as he punished Naito with his patented Wushu strikes on the feet, but a mishap in the third round cost him the entire match as he got submitted by the Japanese via rear naked choke.

First world title reign

After his loss to Naito, Pacio would wreak havoc in the division - winning five of his next six bouts to book another date with Naito this time at ONE: Conquest of Heroes on September 23, 2018 in Jakarta Indonesia. Pacio rematched

at ONE Championship: Conquest of Heroes on September 22, 2018. Pacio looked more confident in the rematch as he stuffed Naito's takedowns for much of the first two rounds while punishing him on the striking department with lightning quick kicks and combinations from different angles. The Japanese did finish strong as he scored takedowns on his younger opponent, but Pacio stayed busy even on his back - earning all of the judges' nod to get a unanimous decision victory.

Losing the belt, second reign

Pacio's reign, however, would not last long as he dropped his belt four months later to

Yosuke Saruta is a Japanese mixed martial artist who last competed in the strawweight division of ONE Championship. A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former ONE Strawweight Champion and former Shooto World Flyweight (114lbs) Champion. P ...

at ONE Championship: Eternal Glory on January 19, 2019, in a controversial split-decision. The Japanese pushed the action while Pacio opted to pick his spots and counter in one of his more tactical bouts yet. In the end, two of the judges favored Saruta's aggression - crowning him the new ONE Strawweight World Champion. With a close finish, Pacio was given an outright rematch at ONE Championship: Roots of Honor in Manila on April 12, 2019 Pacio did not disappoint as he scored a sensational fourth round knockout win with a well-timed knee to regain his lost title. Later that night, ONE Chairman and CEO

Chatri Sityodtong Chatri Trisiripisal (, ), known by the ring names Chatri Sityodtong (, ) and Yodchatri Sityodtong (, ), is a Thai entrepreneur and martial arts instructor based in Singapore. He is best known for being the founder, chairman, and chief executive ...

announced that there would be no need for an immediate trilogy after Pacio's definitive win. Pacio defended his belt for the first time in his second reign as he takes on compatriot Rene Catalan at ONE Championship: Masters of Fate in Manila on November 8, 2019. He defeated Catalan via arm-triangle choke in the second round. Pacio defended his title again against Alex Silva at ONE Championship: Fire and Fury on January 31, 2020. He won the very close bout via split decision. Pacio defended his

in a trilogy match against

at ONE Championship: Revolution on September 24, 2021. He won the bout via TKO in the first round. Pacio was expected to make his fourth title defense against the #1 ranked strawweight contender

Jarred Brooks Jarred Brooks Ford (born May 2, 1993) known professionally as Jarred Brooks, is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in ONE Championship, where he is the former ONE Strawweight World Champion and former Interim ONE ...

ONE 158 ''ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen'' was a combat sports event produced by ONE Championship that took place on June 3, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A ONE Strawweight Championship bout between current two- ...

on June 3, 2022. The bout was eventually postponed, as Brooks withdrew from the fight due to an injury. The fight was rescheduled at

ONE 164 ''ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on December 3, 2022, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines. Background This is a competition with two events on December 3, is ONE ...

on December 3, 2022. Pacio lost the fight and the belt by unanimous decision, making him and the Philippines had no more Filipino World Champions of any weight classes.

Post-championship and third reign

Pacio faced Mansur Malachiev on October 7, 2023, at

ONE Fight Night 15 ''ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov'' was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on October 7, 2023, at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Background A ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Championship b ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Pacio faced

for the

in a rematch on March 1, 2024, at

ONE 166 ''ONE 166: Qatar'' was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on March 1, 2024, at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. Background This event marked the organization's debut in Qatar. It also the second visit to ...

. He won the title via disqualification due to illegal slam in round one. The trilogy bout between Pacio and Brooks for the unification of

took place on February 20, 2025, at

ONE 171 ''ONE 171: Qatar'' was a combat sports event produced by ONE Championship that took place on February 20, 2025, at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. Background The event marked the promotion's second visit to Qatar and first since the cou ...

. Despite Brooks spent the majority of the first round, Pacio won the fight via technical knockout in round two upset.

Titles and accomplishments

ONE Strawweight World Champion (three times; current) ***Three successful title defences (second reign)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 23–4 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:22 ,

Lusail Lusail (, , ) is the second-largest city in Qatar after Doha, and the economic capital of Qatar, located on the coast, in the southern part of the municipality of Al Daayen. Lusail lies about north of the Doha city centre, just north of the West ...

, Qatar , , - , Win , align=center, 22–4 ,

, DQ (illegal slam) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

, Qatar , , - , Win , align=center, 21–4 , Mansur Malachiev , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Thailand , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 20–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , ONE: Revolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:38 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 , Alex Silva , Decision (split) , ONE: Fire and Fury , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Rene Catalan , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , ONE: Masters of Fate , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:29 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 ,

, KO (head kick) , ONE: Roots of Honor , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, Philippines , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–3 ,

, Decision (split) , ONE: Eternal Glory , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Conquest of Heroes , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 , Pongsiri Mitsatit , Submission (hammerlock) , ONE: Reign of Kings , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Ming Qiang Liang , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Global Superheroes , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:01 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Roy Doliguez , KO (spinning backfist) , ONE: Legends of the World , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:38 ,

, Philippines , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 , Hayato Suzuki , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Kings and Conquerors , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:17 ,

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, SAR, China , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke , Decision (split) , ONE: Warrior Kingdom , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Thailand , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: State of Warriors , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:33 ,

, Myanmar , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Kritsada Kongsrichai , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Heroes of the World , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:37 ,

, SAR, China , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Rabin Catalan , TKO (punches) , ONE: Global Rivals , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:19 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Roy Menzi Jr. , Submission (guillotine choke) , Team Lakay Championship 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:05 ,

La Trinidad, Benguet La Trinidad (), officially the Municipality of La Trinidad (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Janito Bayot , Submission (guillotine choke) , Team Lakay Championship 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Joco Mabute , Submission (kimura) , PXC Laban: Baguio 4 , , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Ric Myler Empil , TKO (doctor stoppage) , PXC Laban: Baguio 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:23 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mark Joseph Abrillo , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Spartacus MMA , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jordan Lobida , KO (punch) , Fullcon Fighting Championship 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:41 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ignacio Galindez , TKO (submission to punches) , Team Lakay Championship 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Denver Songaben , TKO , Team Lakay Championship 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Philippines , , -

References

External links

Joshua Pacio
at

ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacio, Joshua 1996 births Living people Filipino male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing sanshou Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu University of the Cordilleras alumni Sportspeople from Benguet ONE Championship champions ONE Championship mixed martial artists Filipino sanshou practitioners Filipino Muay Thai practitioners Filipino practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century Filipino sportsmen Igorot people