Joshua Pacio-Hayato Suzuki rematch set for January in Jakarta

The first challenger for Joshua Pacio’s ONE Strawweight World Championship will be a familiar one, as the Filipino star is set to defend his world title against Japanese submission ace Hayato Suzuki in the main event of ONE: ETERNAL GLORY on Saturday, 19 January 2019 at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The 22-year old Team Lakay star finds himself in a rematch once again, as tries to avenge his previous loss to Suzuki at ONE: KINGS AND CONQUERORS in Macau back in August of 2017.

Suzuki, then just a newcomer to ONE Championship, needed only a little over three minutes to submit Pacio.

The two strawweight standouts’ careers have gone on an upward trajectory since their first encounter.

Pacio bounced back in a big way, rattling off three consecutive victories against three very tough challenges in Filipino veteran Roy Doliguez, Chinese standout Lan Ming Qiang, and Thai striker Pongsiri Mitsatit, defeating all of them via stoppage.

The impressive run earned Pacio another crack at the ONE Strawweight World Championship, then held by Japanese submission specialist Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito.

At ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES in Jakarta back in September, Pacio dethroned Naito to become the new ONE strawweight king.

Much like the champion, the challenger Suzuki is also on a dominant streak of his own, winning his last three bouts, all via submission.

Suzuki ran through the likes of Yago Bryan, Robin Catalan, and Mitsatit as well, to finally earn a shot at world championship gold.

The 32-year old Suzuki now looks to repeat history when he meets Pacio for a second time.

The defending champion on the other hand, has vengeance on his mind as he tries to get past the last man to hand him a loss.