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MMA: Why Joshua Pacio took the jump to Lions Nation

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Joshua Pacio. Handout photo" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/07/22/joshua-pacio-2017-072117.jpg"/><figcaption>Joshua Pacio. Handout photo</figcaption></figure></div>Former ONE strawweight champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio knows that all eyes will be on him following his decision to join his former teammates at Lions Nation MMA. Over the weekend, two-time ONE lightweight champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang announced the formation of Lions Nation MMA. He brought Pacio and former ONE champions Kevin Belingon and Honorio Banario, and other Team Lakay studs like Jeremy Pacatiw and Edward Kelly, into the fold. The 27-year-old’s decision to leave Team Lakay will certainly be under the microscope – especially since he’s been with the famous gym ever since he started his career. “For me, there’s no pressure. From now on, I think it’s really the start of enjoying what we do – particularly in sharing [our knowledge], our openness, and being open-minded with one another,” Pacio said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/22/22/joshua-pacio-picks-masunyane-to-beat-minowa-at-one-159">Joshua Pacio picks Masunyane to beat Minowa at ONE 159</a></li></ul>“What I’m trying to say is that all of our minds will be working together to create even bigger accomplishments and glean even more knowledge from one another. I’m just excited to train with these guys.”Instead of feeling pressured, Pacio is excited to bring a new perspective to his game, which will come from their coaches in Gibran Langbayan and Don-Don Colas. Langbayan is one of the few legitimate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts in the Philippines, having worked intensively with Prof. Leonardo Fernandes, who promoted him to black belt earlier last year. Colas, on the other hand, is a retired boxer who has made a name for himself as a renowned striking coach in the country both for MMA and boxing. While he’s excited to see what both coaches will bring to the table, what excites him even more is how he’ll put his ideas to life through those coaches, creating collaborations that Pacio believes will be central to this new team’s philosophy. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/25/23/folayang-teammates-explain-decision-to-form-lions-nation">MMA: Folayang, teammates explain decision to form Lions Nation</a></li></ul>“I’m super excited to return to the [ONE] Circle while representing Lions Nation MMA. To be working with our new coaches, coach Gibran and coach Don, it’s all about teamwork really. Like my teammates told me back then: ‘Teamwork is listening to each other,’” Pacio said. “There are skills being taught to us that might not work for this fighter but may be super effective against another. Athletes have different sets of strengths and weaknesses from one another. They also have different body types. Those are some things that some need to always remember. Listen to the coaches and to the athletes also.”

Joshua “The Passion” Pacio knows that all eyes will be on him following his decision to join his former teammates at Lions Nation MMA. 