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Former ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio is no stranger to working his way back to the top.
His career has become permanently linked to the strawweight gold that he has claimed, lost, and rebuilt back to on several occasions.
That’s exactly the goal that ‘The Passion’ had going into 2023, and while he was unable to compete in a rematch with Jarred Brooks, it was still a successful year for him.
Not only did Pacio bounce back with a win over Mansur Malachiev, he picked up some valuable experience about the mentality he needs to have when he isn’t active inside the circle.
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There are many things to learn even for a former champion like Joshua Pacio, who believes that he is in a stronger position mentally coming into 2024 and his rematch with Brooks at ONE 166: Qatar.
He told ONE Championship that patience is key and his time away has only made him stronger by allowing him to focus his mind:
“Another thing that I learned is being patient. Sometimes, when we run into a problem we want to find a solution to it quickly, but these challenges, this is where we build character.
The former longtime king went on to add:
“It’s like training, you have to build yourself up physically and mentally, but don’t rush it. It’s the same in life. You have to be patient with it, roll with the punches, and work your way back.”
Joshua Pacio’s confidence will be rewarded at ONE 166
Despite only fighting once in 2023, Joshua Pacio did exactly what he needed to do in his sole outing on the global stage.
Getting back in the win column and taking out a rising contender that was looking to take his spot as the next title challenger set him up for the rematch he has been chasing.
His patience will finally pay off on March 1 in Qatar, where he gets a second shot at ‘The Monkey God’ in a bid to reclaim the strawweight title at long last.
ONE 166, headlined by the middleweight title fight rematch between Reinier de Ridder and double champion Anatoly Malykhin, will air live on March 1.
