Joshua “The Passion” Pacio

Reigning ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio of Baguio City, Philippines, was inspired to take up martial arts ever since he was 12 years old.

It’s a passion that he pursued successfully, winning several national wushu tournaments in the Philippines before transitioning to mixed martial arts. In fact, it was martial arts that helped him through several tough times growing up, as his father moved overseas to work and support the family when he was just 6 years old.

However, this meant he learned to be more independent, and the training toughened him up to become a better person. Immensely overweight as a child, Pacio also credits martial arts for helping him to shed the excess pounds, turning him into the elite athlete he is today.

After an undefeated amateur career, Pacio soon made his professional MMA debut, where he went 6-0 before signingg with ONE Championship. After a thrilling run through the ranks, Pacio challenged Yoshitaka Naito for the ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship in 2016.

Although he fell short in his first World Title bid, he remained inspired by the superstar World Champion teammates he trained with every day. In September 2018, all of Pacio’s dreams came true when he defeated Naito via unanimous decision to finally ascend the strawweight throne. Though he lost the belt in his first World Title defense against Yosuke Saruta, he reclaimed the title in an immediate rematch to once again stand as the best strawweight in the world.

Pacio rattled off three consecutive ONE Strawweight MMA World Title defenses, but he ultimately dropped the gold to Jarred Brooks in December 2022. The Filipino may have lost the crown, but as history has shown, he always comes back stronger.

At ONE 166: Qatar in March 2024, “The Passion” reclaimed the strap due to an illegal slam by Brooks. It was a controversial ending to the high-stakes rematch, but it could be only a matter of time before Pacio faces his American rival once more.