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MMA: Joshua Pacio retakes ONE strawweight title in sensational KO win

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Dennis Gasgonia, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/sports/04/12/20190412-mma_1.jpg"/><figcaption>Joshua Pacio reclaimed the ONE strawweight crown with a scintillating knockout victory against Yosuke Saruta of Japan in the co-main event of ONE: Roots of Honor at MOA Arena on Friday. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>(UPDATED) Joshua Pacio reclaimed the ONE strawweight crown with a scintillating knockout victory against Yosuke Saruta of Japan in the co-main event of ONE: Roots of Honor at Mall of Asia Arena on Friday.After struggling against the shifty Saruta in the first 3 rounds, Pacio fought smart and pick his shots.This paid dividends in the fourth round where he connected a head kick that slumped Saruta to the ground. The fight ended 2:41 in the round.“I’m speechless. I thank God for the strength. My kababayans, thank you,” Pacio said.“Thank you very much! Para sa inyong lahat ito,” he said while addressing the fans at the arena.Pacio said the roundhouse kick that knocked out his foe was exactly what they prepared for Saruta.“Actually, naka-7 or 8 rpund house ako aa kanya pero ‘di lang nagcoconnect noong una,” explained Pacio. “So nung ibinaba niya ‘yung ulo niya doon nakatama.”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Hometown hero Joshua Pacio shares a sensational victory with his fellow Filipinos! 🇵🇭 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreONE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreONE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RootsOfHonor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RootsOfHonor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Manila?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Manila</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MartialArts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MartialArts</a> <a href="https://t.co/i75H4DCyYa">pic.twitter.com/i75H4DCyYa</a>— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) <a href="https://twitter.com/ONEChampionship/status/1116733912460349441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>It was a sweet victory for Pacio who lost the crown to Saruta in a close decision in January.It was also a welcome development for his Team Lakay which lost all of their 4 crowns this year.After Pacio’s title loss in January, Geje Eustaquio also lost his flyweight crown to Adriano Moraes.Eduard Folayang and Kevin Belingon also yielded their belts in the recent ONE card in Tokyo.Belingon surrendered the bantamweight title in controversy after an illegal elbow against Bibiano Fernandes.Folayang, on the other hand, was put to sleep by Shinya Aoki, who reclaimed the lightweight title.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/12/19/watch-edward-kellys-brutal-beatdown-of-korean-opponent-in-one-bout">WATCH: Edward Kelly&#x27;s brutal beatdown of Korean opponent in ONE bout</a></li></ul>Meanwhile, the Kelly siblings had contrasting results.Eric Kelly’s misfortunes in ONE Championship extended after he got knocked out by Korea’s Kwon Won Il in their featherweight bout.Kelly was attacking Kwon when the Korean landed an explosive right hand that felled the Filipino.Kwon chased him to the mat and put him to sleep with a series of hammer fists.The fight ended in 90 seconds, resulting in Eric’s sixth straight loss. Eric now has a record of 12-7.Edward Kelly, on the other hand, stopped another Korean, Sung Jong Lee in their featherweight bout.He weathered Sung&#x27;s ground smarts before punishing the Korean with blistering strikes to the head.After failing his inverted heel hook attempt, Sung found himself at the receiving end of left hands.The referee eventually stepped in and stopped the bout 3:51 in the second round. Kelly now has a record of 12-6.Another Filipino, Ramon “The Bicolano” Gonzales made quick work of Akihiro Fujisawa, forcing the Japanese to tap out in the first round.Gonzales was able to trap Fujisawa’s neck in a guillotine en route to a submission victory.In the main event, Martin Nguyen took Narantungalag Jadambaa&#x27;s leg out and then unleashed a flying knee to knockout the Mongolian.Nguyen retained the featherweight championship.For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

Joshua Pacio dropped Yosuke Saruta of Japan in the fourth round of their ONE Championship match to retake the strawweight title on Friday.

Joshua Pacio dropped Yosuke Saruta of Japan in the fourth round of their ONE Championship match to retake the strawweight title on Friday.

MMA: Joshua Pacio retakes ONE strawweight title in sensational KO win

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MMA: Joshua Pacio retakes ONE strawweight title in sensational KO win

Dennis Gasgonia,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 12, 2019 11:33 PM PHT

|

Updated April 13, 2019 02:51 AM PHT

Read More:

MMA

mixed martial arts

ONE Championship

Team Lakay

Joshua Pacio

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