Fans react to Joshua Pacio’s inventive "Passion Lock" submission

Joshua Pacio | Image courtesy of ONE Championship
Joshua Pacio | [Image courtesy of ONE Championship]

ONE flyweight world champion and the most prominent Filipino MMA fighter today, Joshua Pacio, will be making his fourth straight world title defense at ONE 164. In front of his home crowd in Manila, Philippines, 'The Passion' will face divisional boogieman Jarred 'The Monkey God' Brooks.

Ahead of their much-awaited clash, ONE Championship reminded everyone that Pacio will not be a walk in the park once the fight hits the ground, even for a renowned wrestler like Brooks.

The Singapore-based martial arts organization posted a video of the birth of "The Passion Lock." In 2018, Pacio pulled off a never-before-seen submission against Pongsiri Mitsatit. It's rare enough to see someone tap out to a hammerlock in MMA. Pulling it off in the same way Pacio did, however, makes it one in a million. We bet you won't find another armlock submission exactly like that:

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"Don’t try this at home 😳 Joshua Pacio defends the ONE Strawweight World Title against Jarred Brooks at ONE 164 on December 3! 🏆 @joshuapacio"

Check out the Instagram post below:

The inventive hammerlock from the ONE flyweight world champ garnered some really interesting reactions from fans. Here are some of the comments:

Comments on Joshua Pacio's "Passion Lock" [Credits- ONE Championship Instagram]
Comments on Joshua Pacio's "Passion Lock" [Credits- ONE Championship Instagram]

Instagram user @madder.of.thyme and @normomma saw shades of other fighters pulling similar moves:

"Shades of Aoki vs. Hirota"
"@odiedelaney This looks kind of familiar🙃"

Former ONE lightweight world champion Shinya Aoki famously snapped Mizuto Hirota's arm with a similar hammerlock, while ONE heavyweight fighter Odie Delaney submitted Thomas Narmo earlier this year with the same move.

Both submissions were pulled off while the attacker was on top, unlike Pacio who finished from the back control position.

Other Instagram users @grapplerandthedog and @teamjamiebarbell pointed out that the move came from old-school catch wrestling:

"The chicken wing! No cross-face needed. Awesome"
"The old catch Hammerlock"

Joshua Pacio excited to defend his ONE strawweight world title in front of his home fans

In an interview with ONE Championship, Joshua Pacio expressed his excitement for ONE 164, as it will be held in his country's capital, Manila, Philippines:

"I’m very, very excited for this fight. I’m even more excited now that ONE Championship is coming back to the Philippines after more than two years. The energy and excitement is just different in Manila, with the thousands of Filipino fans screaming in the stadium. It really gives us extra motivation to perform at our best. I’m very proud to be a Filipino and I want to make the Filipino fans proud."

Fans in the Philippines are known for their unbridled energy, either for their hometown hero or the fighter invading their shores. Expect the fans in attendance at ONE 164 to tear the roof off once Pacio makes his much-awaited walk-out.

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