Yuya Wakamatsu ready to put it all on the line against Joshua Pacio at ONE 173: "I'm going into this with everything I've got"

Yuya Wakamatsu is preparing to leave everything inside the Circle when he makes his first title defense against Joshua Pacio at ONE 173 in Tokyo on Sunday, Nov. 16.

The 30-year-old Japanese superstar will defend his newly acquired ONE flyweight MMA world championship against the Filipino veteran inside Tokyo's Ariake Arena, where he'll have the full support of his home crowd.

Aiming for yet another career-defining performance, Yuya Wakamatsu told ONE Championship in a recent interview:

"I'm going into this with everything I've got. As a ONE Championship world champion, I'll make sure to get the win in front of the Japanese fans. Thank you all for your continued support."

'Little Piranha's' emotional commitment reflects the pressure and privilege of defending world championship gold on home soil for the first time in his career.

In his last outing in his country, Wakamatsu created history by capturing his career-first MMA world title against Brazilian veteran Adriano Moraes. The Tribe Tokyo MMA warrior needed only one round to wrap up his rematch against 'Mikinho' at ONE 172 in Saitama.

Up next, Wakamatsu faces another dangerous challenge in Pacio, the reigning ONE strawweight MMA world champion, who seeks two-division glory in their highly anticipated encounter that should be a technical battle between two elite warriors.

Above all, his first title defense represents the ultimate test of whether his championship victory over Adriano Moraes was the beginning of a dominant reign or a singular moment of brilliance.

Fight fans can head over to watch.onefc.com for more details on ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri.

---

Like Yuya Wakamatsu, Pacio ready to give it his all in ONE 173 showdown

Yuya Wakamatsu isn't the only fighter willing to bring the heat into this exciting world title matchup set for ONE 173 in November. Pacio's desire to perform is right up there, too.

Speaking to ONE Championship during the event's official press conference, 'The Passion' declared that he's ready to give it his all:

"At this point in my career, I have nothing to lose — only a chance to grow [and] test myself."