Joshua Pacio impressed by Mansur Malachiev’s resilience against Jeremy Miado: “He got rocked”

Former ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio will begin his path back to the title picture this Friday, October 6, at ONE Fight Night 15.

The Filipino warrior is scheduled to meet undefeated contender and No. 5-ranked divisional challenger Mansur Malachiev inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ahead of their important fight that could shake up the strawweight division, ‘The Passion’ gave a quick assessment of the Russian’s impressive debut victory against his Filipino compatriot Jeremy Miado in June 2023, where Malachiev scored a first-round submission.

Pacio revealed this analysis in a recent interview with ONE Championship by saying:

“I think [Malachiev is] a pressure fighter. We saw it against Miado. Jeremy caught him with a good cross, and he got rocked, but he kept going. He kept gunning for that double-leg takedown because his aim was to control Miado and submit him.”

The Lions Nation MMA representative will look for an impressive and decisive victory against Malachiev, who currently rides an 11-fight winning streak with no losses on his professional record.

Pacio will bring his elite wushu striking and improved Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills against the top-level wrestling of the Dagestani phenom.

The 27-year-old martial artist lost his world title to Jarred Brooks in December 2022 via a unanimous decision at ONE 164. Prior to that defeat, Pacio was on a four-fight winning streak after beating Yosuke Saruta twice alongside triumphs over Rene Catalan and Alex Silva.

A victory would likely earn Pacio an automatic rematch with ‘The Monkey God’ and give him the opportunity to reclaim his belt.

ONE Fight Night 15 will emanate from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, this Friday, October 6. The entire event airs live in U.S. primetime free of charge for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.