Filipino Joshua “The Passion” Pacio’s second successful defense of his ONE Strawweight World Title against former world champion Alex “Little Rock” Silva is among ONE Championship’s Top 5 Mixed Martial Arts Fights of 2020.
Pacio retained his strawweight title via split decision against Brazil’s Alex Silva in the ONE: FIRE & FURY main card held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on January 31, 2020.
The fight was ranked 4th in the year-ender list which included stellar performances by the best and brightest mixed martial artists in the world.
“This is the second bout on this list to feature the kind of drama that can take place when two world-class athletes go to war for a full 25 minutes,” described the list of Pacio’s fight.
Two of the three judges scored the bout for the reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion, moving Pacio’s record to an impressive 16-3 in mixed martial arts.
The 24-year-old Team Lakay standout from Baguio City, Philippines became the first man to defend the division’s gold two times in a row, eclipsing other fighters who held the title.
The top MMA fighter from Baguio City is the sole Filipino in ESPN’s Top 25 Mixed Martial Arts Fighters under the age of 25. He was also named in Black Belt magazine’s Ten Best MMA Fighters in the World Right Now.
The Team Lakay fighter, who dedicated his first MMA World championship win in 2018 to typhoon-hit Cordillerans, has put together a “sterling résumé” with two straight title defenses against compatriot Rene “The Challenger” Catalan in 2019 and Brazil’s Alex Silva in 2020.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to Filipino MMA sensation Joshua “The Passion” Pacio for having his Strawweight World title defense in the Top MMA Fights of 2020
Want to know how to be a Proud Pinoy? Like, Follow, Subscribe to GoodNewsPilipinas.com, and our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Good News Pilipinas! TV on YouTube, for new good story notifications and e-mail newsletters for updates on more Filipino Pride stories
