Joshua Pacio: “I’m undefeated here in my hometown”
Joshua Pacio takes on Alex Silva in defense of his ONE strawweight title. The bout goes at ONE Championship: Fire & Fury. The MMA scene in Asia is truly a vibrant one with multiple promotions putting on stellar events. Pacio vs Silva emanates from Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines and goes down Friday, January 31st. This is Pacio’s second reign with the ONE belt and he is on the heels of notching his first successful title defense across the two reigns. In order to achieve his second successful title defense, he’ll have to halt the progress of the Evolve MMA product, Silva.
ONE Championship: Fire & Fury
Pacio feels a sense of confidence competing in Manila and seems to feel galvanized from fighting there. Joshua Pacio said, “My thoughts of competing here in Mall of Asia Arena is I’m excited. Like what I said, I’m undefeated here in my hometown. So I’m very confident and very motivated.”
It was mentioned earlier that Pacio had no defenses in his first reign but has defended the title in his second reign. His last fight being a second-round arm-triangle choke win over Rene Catalan. Pacio stated, “There’s the saying that if you get the belt and you didn’t defend it once, you’re not a real champion. So, for me, I defended it once and my goal is to defend it multiple times. So I feel like I’m a champion now.”
Joshua Pacio
Joshua Pacio isn’t resting on any perceived laurels after that important victory though. He knows he’s faced with a dangerous opponent who poses a very real threat to his throne. Pacio remarked, “For me Alex Silva, you can watch his past bouts. His striking is improving. He’s not just a typical black belt Jiu-Jitsu guy because he’s a very well-rounded athlete.”
Pacio is putting in the work during his preparations to ensure he is supremely prepared and that his skills are honed for Friday’s fight card. Pacio quipped, “For me, I train with the best. I train with Danny Kingad. Danny Kingad’s level now is so high after he fought Demetrious Johnson. I can say that because I spar with him, I roll with him.”
In summation, Joshua Pacio said “I’m thinking about all the foods that I eat tomorrow. Thank you for all our fans here in the Philippines and all over the world.”
