WATCH: Strawweight MMA king Joshua Pacio's brutal mid-strike adjustment in his revenge fight against his old rival in Manila

ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio can thank his deep bag of tricks for helping him rise to the mountaintop of the perenially stacked division. His polished striking abilities have given him one of the best knockouts in the promotion's history.

At ONE: Roots of Honor in April 2019, 'The Passion' sought to reclaim the 125-pound MMA crown from Yosuke Saruta, who won it from Pacio via split-decision in January that year. The pair emptied their arsenal during their world title rematch, but Pacio's attention to detail allowed him to reclaim the gold.

In an Instagram video posted by ONE, the promotion showed how the Filipino spitfire's craftiness led to him changing his head kick attempt into a fight-ending knee strike on a whim.

Watch the entire video below in slow-mo:

This high-level ability to adjust on the fly has been a big reason why Pacio is the proud owner of a 14-win career, with nine finishes, under the ONE banner since he debuted in April 2016.

This past February at ONE 171: Qatar, he showcased the next evolution in his game by outwrestling American rival Jarred Brooks en route to a second-round stoppage to unify the gold and become the undisputed ONE strawweight MMA king once more.

---

Joshua Pacio open to fourth meeting with Jarred Brooks

Rarely do MMA rivalries go beyond three fights, though Joshua Pacio is open to the idea of a fourth showdown with Jarred Brooks — whenever that may be.

He recently told Nissi Icasiano of The MMA Superfan:

"I've read Jarred's post about his idea of climbing up the ranks again, fight one or two more. And if he wins those, why not run it back? I mean, I'll fight whoever. Chatri said 'just tell me when you're ready.'"