By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Just a month ago, Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and Team Lakay said they are going to stun the world heading into their trilogy match against rival Yosuke Saruta.
And they did just that.
Laser-focused in putting the exclamation point of a must-win rubber match, the young Filipino juggernaut ended it all in the first round after knocking out his Japanese nemesis that ended one of the most highly-anticipated trilogies in ONE Fighting Championship history.
Two years ago, the surging Pacio tasted one of his MMA defeats in the hands of Saruta after a split decision ruling but came back three months after to equalize their head to head with a vicious leg kick that knocked the Japanese out cold.
With the third fight delayed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it took one year for Pacio to defend his championship belt against the no.1 strawweight contender.
Saruta started the fight as expected as he hounded Pacio from the get-go. Just like in their two previous fights, Saruta forced a close-ranged battle that gave the Filipino little space to operate on his offensive sets.
However, head coach Mark Sangiao did adjustments that gave Pacio the edge in the exchanges as they countered Saruta’s slow leg kick attempts by catching it with the left hand while throwing the right overhand punch.
The plan proved to be effective as Pacio used the countermove to end the match.
At the 1:20 mark of the first round, Saruta threw a leg kick which Pacio caught while throwing a big heavy right bomb that pinned the Japanese to the cage.
As Saruta tried to gather himself, Pacio poured it on and landed three consecutive left bomb hooks that led to the fight stoppage.
With the huge win, Pacio retained his ONE Strawweight belt and ended one of the most exciting trilogies in ONE history.
