(Poster from ONE Championship website)
MANILA – Joshua Pacio made a triumphant return to ONE Championship in style after more than a year and a half of layoff, knocking out Japanese rival Yosuke Saruta in their third showdown for the ONE strawweight title at ONE: Revolution at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday night.
Despite being relegated to just training amid the pandemic, Pacio showed that he did not have the "ring rust" everyone was expecting, quickly downing Saruta with a right hook.
Although Saruta had some good moments of his own, such as some kicks to the leg that staggered Pacio a bit, it was through Saruta's leg kick that Pacio began his finish.
Just as Saruta connected on a leg kick, Pacio connected on a right hook that wobbled him before landing a series of left punches that forced referee Justin Brown to stop the fight at the 3:48 mark of the first round.
Pacio ended his trilogy with Saruta with his second consecutive knockout win over him as he moved up to 19-3 overall, winning his past four fights and successfully defending his ONE Championship gold for the third straight time.
Saruta, on the other hand, fell to 21-10-3.
Pacio's victory actually made 2-0 for Team Lakay as Lito Adiwang edged Hexigetu earlier in the card.
Adiwang opened the showdown with a flurry, connecting on two flying knees and a series of punches to stagger Hexigetu.
Adiwang also showed superb takedown defense by preventing all of Hexigetu's three chances to bring the game to the ground.
Worse for Hexigetu, he was slapped with two yellow cards after accidentally connecting on low blows to Adiwang, highlighting an off night for the Chinese fighter.
Despite action slowing down following the low blows, Adiwang's superb striking game proved to be enough to secure the unanimous decision victory.
Adiwang has reestablished a winning run with his second straight victory, but dating back to 2016, he has won nine of his past 10 bouts as he moved up to 13-3 overall.
Hexigetu, on the other hand, fell to 9-4 as he saw his winning streak snapped at three.
However, not all the Filipinos fighting got a win as Roel Rosauro suffered a tough defeat to American opponent James Yang at the start of the event.
Yang simply dominated Rosauro from the get-go, even coming close to a rear-naked choke submission in Round 1.
While Rosauro survived the first five minutes, Yang once again brought the game to the ground at the start of Round 2, and this time, Yang banked on the ground-and-pound to seal the finish exactly at the two-minute mark of the round.
The 32-year-old Yang won in his first match in the pro ranks, although he too had an impressive amateur MMA record at 6-0.
Rosauro, on the other hand, fell to 5-4 as his quest to sneak into the ONE lightweight title picture did not go to a good start. (PNA)
