Joshua Pacio has ruled the strawweight scene in ONE Championship for years, but the Filipino standout is now contemplating a new chapter at flyweight. At 29, “The Passion” remains at the peak of his game, yet he knows the demands of cutting weight won’t get any easier over time.
“Maybe in a year or two, if making weight becomes difficult, I’ll move up,” Pacio recently admitted. “We can’t let performance suffer just to hit the limit. I’m naturally a flyweight, and so far I’ve had no trouble, but I’m always monitoring how I feel.”
As the landscape of ONE evolves, so too does Pacio’s mindset. While he’s still sharp and dominant in the strawweight division, he’s leaving the door open for a strategic move to flyweight — especially if it means preserving his health and performance.
Beyond title defenses, Pacio is also intrigued by ONE’s unique format flexibility. Inspired by the famous crossover bout between Rodtang and Demetrious Johnson at ONE X, he’s eyeing potential mixed-rules contests of his own. In particular, he’s called out striking specialists like Prajanchai PK Saenchai and Jonathan Di Bella for potential multi-discipline battles.
“Imagine a match with round one kickboxing, then grappling, then MMA in round three. That’s exciting,” he said. “If ONE offers it, I’m in. I want to challenge myself across every rule set.”
For now, Pacio remains the man to beat at strawweight, but he’s clearly looking toward bigger, more complex challenges — both in terms of opponents and rule formats — as his career evolves.
