MANILA – Filipino mixed martial arts fighter Joshua Pacio hopes to regain the ONE Championship strawweight belt when he battles Japanese Yosuke Saruta tonight at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The 23-year-old fighter lost hold of the ONE world championship following a split decision defeat at the hands of Saruta in their first encounter last January in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Pacio, a Baguio City native, admitted that he was still stunned with his defeat to Saruta in their first encounter and very much motivated to get his revenge on the Japanese fighter to reclaim the belt.
“I have prepared hard for this rematch and hopefully I could get the championship back to our country,” Pacio said. “Our fight encounter was a close match and it could have gone either way.”
He added: “I was a bit caught off guard the last time we faced each other and out of focus but I’m more focused and more confident this time around. I’m not going to hesitate this time and I will stick to our game plan.”
Pacio, who is fighting out of the Benguet-based Team Lakay, will be entering the ring with 13-3 win-loss record, while the veteran Saruta will parade a 19-8-3 win-loss-draw card.
Aside from Pacio, also taking part in the Manila card is Eric Kelly, who is facing South Korea’s Kwon Won Il./PN
