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2024 is shaping up to be a huge year for Joshua Pacio, and he’s excited that the promotion seems to be on the same page as him ahead of the next 12 months.
MMA was not featured as heavily by the promotion in 2023, with striking absolutely dominating the calendar and most of the marquee ONE Fight Night events.
That didn’t appear to slow the trajectory of Pacio, however, as he made an impressive return by beating Mansur Malachiev to bounce back from his loss to Jarred Brooks at the end of 2022.
Getting back in the win column and earning a rematch with Brooks for the ONE strawweight MMA world championship was his primary focus. Now, he’s looking ahead to what’s in front of him.
As he prepares to face Brooks for a second time at ONE 166, Joshua Pacio is also excited to see MMA return in a big way inside the circle throughout 2024.
In an interview with the promotion, ‘The Passion’ spoke about how more activity in MMA will inspire him to fight more frequently:
“Of course, I’m happy to hear that. Gives me more motivation to compete. [In 2023], we’ve seen a lot of events where the MMA bouts are usually openers. But next year, according to boss Chatri, they’ll go all out in MMA, so I’m excited.”
2024 could be a massive year for Joshua Pacio
With the promise of more fights and a brighter spotlight, Joshua Pacio is excited to make use out of the increased activity in MMA across the board.
The former world champion is already scheduled to face Brooks at ONE 166 on March 1, where he will look to reclaim the strawweight gold once again.
If he is able to avenge his loss whilst the strawweight division remains active, it could be a big year for Pacio and the other top contenders in and around him.
His main priority will be defeating Brooks and potentially eyeing a trilogy fight between them if he is successful in Qatar.
ONE 166, headlined by the middleweight title fight rematch between Reinier de Ridder and two-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin, will air live on March 1.
