ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio has one of the deepest bags of moves across ONE Championship. However, there are times when the more straightforward approach of baiting an opponent into a knockout blow works best.
Such was the case in his April 2019 rematch with then-reigning king Yosuke Saruta over the 125-pound MMA crown. Although meaning to throw a head kick, 'The Passion' landed a knee strike to his temple for the instant knockout just off a jab fake.
ONE posted the entire sequence on Instagram, which can be viewed below:
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Fans were amazed at Pacio's quick-thinking and commended him for the finish in the comments section:
"Timed his dodge, perfect sequence."
"NIGHT NIGHT 💤"
"Headshot dead."
"How do they survive those kinds of hits 😲"
"He wants to make a high kick and the other avoids the left and accidentally falls on the knee! These things happen too..."
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While a hint of luck was involved in his knockout of 'The Ninja', Pacio will look to replicate a similar result in his upcoming unification bout with ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks at ONE 171: Qatar on Thursday, Feb. 20.
Joshua Pacio declines to predict outcome of ONE 171 bout
Joshua Pacio is not too keen on predicting the outcome of his third battle with Jarred Brooks at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, owing to the unpredictable nature of MMA and their mutual respect.
The Lions Nation MMA product recently told the promotion in an interview:
"I can't predict this fight. I don't like predicting. But this will be explosive, no one's gonna back down. I won't, and I don't expect him to. And Jarred, I'm excited to see you again. Let's put on a great show for the fans."
Tickets are available via Q-Tickets.