Backed by his family, Joshua Pacio is ready for another run at ONE gold

Like most 22 year olds, Joshua “The Passion” Pacio is young, full of energy, and loves having fun. But unlike most others his age, Pacio also happens to be a world-class martial artist.

Pacio plies his trade inside the walls of the ONE Championship cage, where he tests his martial arts talent against the best martial artists in the world in front of an audience of up to 1.7 billion people across 136 countries. 

He already has five years of competitive experience and trains out of one of the top teams in Asia, Team Lakay. He has a 10-2 record, has already challenged for the ONE Strawweight Title once, and is far from finished on that front.

Despite his unusual life, Pacio admits he’s still a regular guy at heart.

“I love my mom, and you could say I am pretty much a mama’s boy,” he smiles.

“My mom taught me that whatever challenges, problems, or circumstance I may find myself in, that I just have to trust in a higher power. I just have to keep the faith in God, put the work in, do what I need to do, and the rest will take care of itself.”

Pacio’s father moved abroad for work, leaving his mother to look after 6-year-old Joshua. Her hard work as a single parent inspired Pacio to make sure he got the best out of himself in order to provide for his family.

However, his mother wasn’t too keen when Pacio decided to take up martial arts. He’d started as an 11-year-old learning Muay Thai with his uncle, then took up wushu, training under the renowned Mark Sangiao, founder of Team Lakay. Eventually, Pacio’s performances in competition won his mother over.

“When I first started martial arts, my mom was not very supportive. She did not want me practicing this kind of thing,” he explains.

“We all know mothers are very protective, and they do not want anything bad to happen to their children. But I was stubborn, like most kids, and I continued to practice martial arts.”

“When I started to get really good at it, and I finally reached the international level, my mom changed her view of martial arts, and she started to become really supportive. She was super proud of my achievements.”

Buoyed by his mother’s support, Pacio continued to excel, as he earned himself a contract with ONE Championship, where he’s since developed into one of the best strawweight athletes in the world. 

His remarkable rise up the ranks saw him handed a shot at then-ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito where, despite being just 21 at the time, he showed he deserved his spot at the highest level, dominating the champion in striking exchanges and looking on course for an upset victory, before eventually succumbing to a rear-naked choke in the third round.

Coming so close and falling short still rankles with “The Passion” who is single-minded in his determination to earn himself another title shot - this time against newly-crowned champion Alex “Little Rock” Silva - and put things right second time around.

The latest step in Pacio’s route back to title contention saw him stun the veteran Roy Doliquez with a stunning spinning backfist KO, and now he’s looking to produce another impressive performance as he takes on China’s Lan Ming Qiang in the co-main event at ONE: GLOBAL SUPERHEROES on 26 January at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. 

Another victorious, eye-catching performance may well propel him back into title contention once more.

“That is really my goal, to work towards another opportunity to become champion,” he states.

“I have worked incredibly hard on my skills, and I have improved a lot since then. I am much wiser now, and I believe I am ready for another shot.”