ONE CEO says Joshua Pacio was 'one good kick away to win the fight'

Former ONE strawweight king Joshua Pacio suffered his first defeat since becoming champion. But it was a good showing from 'The Passion' and ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong says he was one good strike away from ending the bout.

Pacio came up short at ONE Championship 164 against Jarred Brooks. Afterward, Sityodtong revealed what he would've done differently if he were Team Lakay. He said in the post-fight presser:

"Joshua was one good punch, one good kick away to win the fight if he had rocked that last round, if he went for it, right? That was the only thing that I would have done differently if I was Team Lakay."

Sityodtong continued, saying:

"I would say ‘go, go, you’re down by very little!’ It wasn't that he was down by an overwhelming [margin]. So the main event delivered, for sure, a great fight. The whole night, the whole morning delivered."

The strawweight title fight in the headlining slot certainly delivered—and an immediate rematch might be in order considering Pacio's long reign at the top.

Watch Chatri Sityodtong's full ONE 164 post-fight presser via SCMP MMA below:

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Joshua Pacio breaks silence after losing strawweight title

The former strawweight world champ hadn't lost since April 2019 prior to ONE 164. His three straight title defenses placed him toward the top of the pound-for-pound rankings within the promotion.

Joshua Pacio recently took to Instagram to pen his thoughts on the outcome of his most recent fight:

“All Is Well😃 I just want to thank My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the Strength and Protection He has given me💪🏽😊"

Joshua Pacio continued, penning:

“We didn’t get the Win last Saturday but I thank God I learned a lot and saw what to improve more as an athlete, what I love about this sport is it is a continuous learning and leveling up and that’s what I aim to do, I’ll be back stronger,smarter and more dangerous😉 Thank you to my team @teamlakay and to all my Coaches, Coach @marksangiao , Manung @the.landslide, to Coach @alimmagym , Coach Darinton and Julio, Manung Mark and @jb_unpredictable . To all our sponsors , supporters, my family and friends Thank You Very Much.😊🙏"

“To @onechampionship and Sir @yodchatri for the opportunity to showcase our skills again Thank you very much🙇‍♂️🙏 To @the_monkeygod thank you for the experience brother and for making me level up again, congratulations to you and Ill see you soon💪🏽🔥"

“Every Setback is a SetUp for a Greater ComeBack! God has a better plan☝🏼🙇‍♂️🙏"

Be sure to check back for an announcement regarding Joshua Pacio's next fight, as it could very well be a rematch against Jarred Brooks.