Joshua Pacio made sure there where no doubts, or even room for debate in the main event of The Inner Circle 21, submitting Mansur Malachiev with a rear-naked choke to retain the ONE Strawweight MMA world title from Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, July 10.
Malachiev immediately looked to impose the grappling-heavy game plan that many expected from him, quickly shooting for a takedown and dragged Pacio into dangerous territory on the canvas.
For a moment, Malachiev appeared to be moving toward the kind of control that has made him such a feared force in the division. He threatened with a face crank, then shifted toward a rear-naked choke as he tried to secure the reigning champion’s back.
But Pacio refused to let the challenger settle into his offense. “The Passion” stayed calm through the danger, worked his way out of trouble, reversed the position, and eventually climbed onto Malachiev’s back. From there, the Filipino star locked in a tight rear-naked choke of his own.
The 34-year-old Russian initially survived the first wave of danger, but Pacio continued to adjust and crank down. From bottom position, Pacio cinched in the choke even deeper. Malachiev refused to tap, but the pressure was too much. Moments later, the challenger went unconscious, prompting the referee to stop the contest at the 4:23 mark of round one.
“We prepared hard for this, my striking coach, my grappling coach. We mixed things up, because this is mixed martial arts. And we know, he will go to his bread and butter – go to take me down. In the first fight, I wasn’t able to get the guilotine choke and that’s what we planned to do and I was nearly submitted,” Pacio said.
With the submission victory, Pacio emphatically avenged any lingering doubt from their first encounter and strengthened his place atop the strawweight MMA division. The defending ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion also earned a US $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
“It’s never easy, every opponent, they are the reason why I’m levelling up and still will level up and you can see me more years holding this belt,” Pacio said in a post fight interview. Roderick Osis
