Joshua Pacio has long been a pillar of ONE Championship’s strawweight division. At just 29, the Filipino standout has already compiled a resume few can match—yet he says the best is still to come.
Back under the spotlight at ONE 171, Pacio silenced doubters with a thunderous second-round TKO over rival Jarred Brooks, unifying the division and reclaiming the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title. But in his mind, the job isn’t done.
“I’m just a vessel used by God on this platform,” Pacio told ONEFC.com. “So many rivalries, so many rematches—it’s been a journey. But I’m still hungry.”
His journey began in 2016 with a pair of quick finishes that set the tone early. A tough loss to Yoshitaka Naito was a wake-up call, but also the start of a climb that would see Pacio beat that same opponent two years later to capture the belt—and defend it through several classic wars.
Teammate Lito Adiwang has called him the strawweight GOAT, but Pacio brushes off labels. His mission now is bigger: proving that Filipino fighters can hang in every area of the game—including grappling, long seen as a weakness in the region.
“People used to say we couldn’t compete on the ground,” he said. “But we’ve worked harder than anyone to change that.”
As head of Lions Nation MMA, and with mentors like Eduard Folayang passing on elite experience from U.S. camps, Pacio sees Filipino MMA gaining real momentum. “We’re not just catching up—we’re ready to lead,” he said.
Whether it’s title defenses, a move to flyweight, or mixed-rules fights, Pacio isn’t slowing down. And as he keeps pushing, so does an entire nation’s fight game.
