"I'm not on my peak yet" - ONE Championship strawweight king Joshua Pacio stays hungry for improvement amid long reign

Joshua Pacio has ruled the ONE Championship strawweight division for more than two years.

Since regaining the ONE strawweight title against Yosuka Saruta in April 2019, he has racked up three successful defenses. The latest came against Saruta in a stellar first-round knockout in September 2021.

Despite his long stint at the top of his division in ONE Championship, the 26-year-old remains hungry for improvement to keep him on his toes.

Although the South China Morning Post acknowledged that he is now one of Team Lakay's veterans, Pacio made it clear to them that he can still get to another level in his craft:

"There's a lot to improve on. Every single day, I'm getting better and better, like one percent every day. I think I'm not on my peak yet. For me, that's my goal, to improve by one percent every day. If I do that, I can defend my belt multiple times. If I get to my peak, man, I'm sure that I will be unstoppable."

Right now, Pacio needs every modicum of improvement he can muster as a handful of challengers are gunning for his title. These include top contender Bokang Masunyane, followed closely by the expressive Jarred Brooks, the new No.2-ranked fighter in the division.

Pacio even entertained the idea of moving up to flyweight and being a two-division champ in ONE Championship. However, he also stressed that he wants to take things one at a time:

"I just thought about that [after] my last win with Saruta and yeah, if I have been given an opportunity to fight in flyweight, I would grab it, but this time, I'm more focused on the strawweight division and the challengers, the ranked fighters in my division."

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ONE Championship strawweight champ Joshua Pacio eyes return in April or May as Jarred Brooks callouts continue

Joshua Pacio has no shortage of challengers for the ONE strawweight title. However, he is in no immediate rush to answer the numerous callouts he has received, particularly from the fast-rising Jarred Brooks.

Although Brooks has demanded a ONE X title fight from Pacio, the defending champion has not set in stone both his return date and opponent.

In his interview with SCMP, Pacio said that he is eyeing a ONE Championship return sometime in April or May this year against anyone, whether that be Masunyane or Brooks:

"Anyone would be next in line, maybe Bokang, maybe Brooks. Maybe they will fight each other and the winner will get me. Anyone. Anyone. I'm ready to defend my title this April or May, so let's get it on."