Joshua Pacio says he was confident ‘going into the guard game’ versus Mansur Malachiev

Ahead of his return to the circle, there was one big question mark hanging over the return of Joshua Pacio.

Having been defeated by Jarred Brooks at ONE 164, a moment which cost him his ONE strawweight world championship, the former titleholder was looking to bounce back at ONE Fight Night 15.

Standing in his way was then-undefeated Mansur Malachiev, who was looking to secure the biggest win of his career to gain a shot at Brooks.

There was no debate over where Malachiev would try to win this fight with his wrestling background. With Brooks causing Pacio problems with his grappling, it was a big question to answer.

With his hand raised via the judges’ scorecards, Pacio proved that while he was taken down multiple times in the fight, he was still able to get the job done.

Using a combination of his experience to keep himself safe on the ground and his own submission attacks from the bottom position, ‘The Passion’ remained an issue for his opponent even when Malachiev was able to take the fight to the floor.

In an interview after he was able to get back in the win column, Joshua Pacio said that the contest against ‘The Monkey God’ made him confident going into this one.

Speaking to ONE Championship, the former strawweight king said that he wasn’t worried about what Malachiev could offer on the ground thanks to his experience facing Brooks last time out:

“Yes, he took me down, but he didn’t damage me from my guard. And yeah, like what I said, Jarred Brooks is heavier from the top position. So I was confident going into the guard game or on the ground.”

ONE Fight Night 15 is available to watch back in full for free via the event replay on Amazon Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription.