ONE: Joshua Pacio prevails over Mansur Malachiev in Fight Night 15

MANILA, Philippines—A few days ago, Joshua Pacio considered his bout with Mansur Malachiev as a testament to his level as a fighter in ONE Championship.

On Saturday, he proved that he’s still a top threat in the division for a reason after fending off Malachiev in ONE Fight Night 15: Tawanchai vs Superbon at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

After 15 minutes of grueling back and forth, Pacio prevailed on top with a unanimous decision victory.

“It’s a long tough 10 months after I lost the belt, a lot of challenges and problems came, a lot of what is coming and running through my mind but I just want to Thank the Almighty God for the strength, the knowledge and wisdom that He gave me to overcome all of these, “Pacio said in a Facebook post.

However, the former Team Lakay fighter felt he had a lot more to give and vows to come out stronger in his next fight.

“I’m not impressed with my performance right now but I promise to come back stronger to give you all an exciting fight,” he also said.

Former strawweight MMA king Joshua Pacio 🇵🇭 beats fifth-ranked Mansur Malachiev by unanimous decision! 👊

Tune in to Prime Video NOW to catch the rest of ONE Fight Night 15!#ONEFightNight15 | 🔴 Live Now
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch live on Prime 👉 https://t.co/LF67g9KCVe
🌍 Live TV broadcast… pic.twitter.com/Af6B3Cmj1j

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 7, 2023

The Lions Nation MMA pioneer’s win also gave Malachiev his first professional career loss after 11 straight wins.

Pacio strengthened his bid for a rematch with Jarred Brooks for the ONE Strawweight Championship.

The former holder of the strawweight strap improved his record to 21-4.

Last night, fellow Filipino Carlos Alvarez won over Title Chai via first round submission in the featherweight division at ONE Friday Fights 36.