Joshua Pacio open to fighting Bokang Masunyane to prove he is the true top contender

Former ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio is more than willing to go through No. 2 ranked contender Bokang Masunyane if it means earning an opportunity to reclaim the world title he lost last December.

Pacio currently sits as the No. 1 contender in the strawweight division, but he is yet to compete following his world title loss to ‘The Monkey God’ Jarred Brooks at ONE 164. Rumors have suggested that he could already be in line to run it back with Brooks in the near future, but ‘The Passion’ is more than willing to earn his way back to a title fight.

Speaking with The MMA Superfan, Joshua Pacio suggested that a bout between himself and South African standout Bokang Masunyane could be booked as a potential world title eliminator:

“If they give me the second-ranked fighter [Bokang Masunyane], I’ll accept,” Pacio said. If they give me the champion, I’ll accept as the no.1 contender.”

Joshua Pacio was on an impressive four-fight win streak until running into the intense offense of Jarred Brooks last year. Since then, ‘The Passion’ has made some changes, moving on from his former gym, Team Lakay, to Lions Nation MMA with the goal of once again climbing to the top of the strawweight division.

As for Bokang Masunyane, the ‘Little Giant’ is 3-1 in his last four bouts with the one loss coming against the current champion. Since then, Masunyane has bounced back, scoring a win over the division’s third-ranked contender Hiroba Minowa.

Would you like to see Joshua Pacio square off with Bokang Masunyane for a shot at the strawweight crown?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 13 live and for free in U.S. primetime on August 4.