“The Passion”. This is a moniker given to this 21-year old native of Baguio City due to his love for what he does and strong desire to succeed.
Joshua Pacio is working towards harnessing his passion for the game. A win on his upcoming bout can put him back in position for another crack at strawweight title, but he prefers to take every step rather than looking for quick results in achieving his life’s goal to rule the 115 pound division.
They say if you think that success is going to come easy then you might as well stay asleep. Pacio just keep putting in the work, loving the grind and having a passion for what he do to get to his goals. He is even mixing study, work and fitness to be the best of both worlds.
“I am willing to wait for the right time. Timing is everything. Every moment has its own purpose. I don’t race to be in line for that belt, but I’m racing to perfection in this sport.”
Joshua Pacio picks up the biggest win of his career when he defeated the former world strawweight champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke at ONE Championship: Warrior Kingdom last March in Bangkok, Thailand. In just one year of being Asia’s largest MMA promotion ONE Championship fighter, we have seen this young warrior inside the cage scored quite the impressive wins. You don’t get a mark in the win column by just punches, kicks, elbows and knees. It takes passion, persistence and hardwork.
“There is always a room for improvement. Although I won against Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke last March, there is still an urgency to improve my skills and arsenal further after the fight. This time, we enhanced timing and precision. We added speed as well as proper executions of game plan,” he shared.
Joshua Pacio (9-1) takes down Kings and Conquerors on set. He will fight against another undefeated Japanese Hayato Suzuki (16-0-2). The bantamweight title bout between Bibiano Fernandes and Andrew Leone will headline the fight card. ONE Championship comes back to Cotai Arena, The Venetian Macao August 5 on Saturday where he earned a title shot at strawweight after defeating Kritsada Kongsrichai in 2016 of August. Two months after that year, he nearly took Yoshitaka Naito’s belt to become the youngest Filipino to capture a MMA world title. But the Japanese Champion handed him his first loss by submission in the third round at ONE Championship: State of Warriors.
“Every martial artist should have the sense of growth. This sport is constantly evolving, and every fighter should adapt to changes and improve their overall MMA game. It’s either you adapt or you fail. I learned my lesson, and I chose to adapt for the better.
I don’t fear that my opponent has the ability to take my spot in the rankings. I am consistently improving. The goal is to win and improve. That’s my mindset right now. As I grind at the gym every single day, I know that the belt will be mine soon. Hard work cannot be denied forever,” Joshua added as he looks to end Suzuki’s undefeated streak.
Many of us wouldn’t have continued after a failure. But passion will find a way when you pave the path that you want to lead. These are the reasons why I gave Joshua the moniker “The Passion” he is now using. It rhyme with Pacio and fit for his being a surging strawweight and more importantly, Joshua approves!
“My moniker? It depends on the crowd or the name people will give me. Ayos yung binigay mo na ‘The Passion’ sakin Ma’am (“The Passion” moniker you gave to me Ma’am…would look good on me),” he said when I asked him last year what nickname he would like to put in between the Joshua Pacio.
If you live your passion then success will follow and it is what this Team Lakay standout is about.
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