Joshua Pacio to Defend Against Rene Catalan at ONE: Masters of Fate
ONE Championship strawweight champion, Joshua Pacio, has his first title defense set up. He will take on the 6-2 Rene Catalan at ONE: Masters of Fate on November 8th. ONE: Masters of Fate will take place in the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. Manila has a deep history of combat sports, most notably the Thrilla in Manila where Muhammad Ali took on Joe Frazier for the third and final time. The boxing match is commonly thought of as the greatest match of all time.
Joshua Pacio (17-3) recaptured his title last April as he defeated Yosuke Saruta with an incredible flying knee in the first round. He initially lost his belt to Saruta in a closely contended split decision fight in January. Pacio has been the author of a myriad of finishes including an inverted kimura, spinning back fist, rear naked chokes, guillotines and more. He looks to get another win over Catalan.
Rene Catalan (6-2 1 NC) is on a giant win streak within the promotion. After going 0-2-1 in his professional career, Catalan has won six straight. He gets his first shot at ONE gold against the exciting Pacio. His last fight against Yoshitaka Naito ended in a first round TKO finish. Catalan takes on the tough task of beating Pacio.
Building ONE: Masters of Fate
In addition to Pacio-Catalan, ONE Championship also announced loads of other fighters on the card.
Former ONE lightweight champion, Eduard Folayang makes his comeback against Amarsanaa Tsogookhuu in the co-main event. Folayang is charting dangerous waters as Tsogookhuu has incredible power with three knockouts in his five professional wins.
In a Muay Thai bout, Sangmanee Sathian takes on Azize Halali in a firecracker Muay Thai bout. Another ONE former champion, Geje Eustaquio, takes on Tony Tauru in a highly anticipated rematch. Tauru won the first fight via first round rear naked choke.
Stamp Fairtex, the one atomweight Muay Thai and kickboxing champion, takes on Bi Nguyen. WBC Muay Thai champion, Alma Juniku, takes on Anne Line Hogstad.
Other matches on the card are as listed: Yoshitaka Naito-Pongsiri Mitsatit, Han Zi Hao-Kongsak Saenchai, Jae Woong Kim-Emilio Urrutia, Tukkatatong Petpayathai-Hiroaki Suzuki, Kim Kyu Sung-Akihiro Fujisawa, and Roshan Mainam-Khon Sichan.
