Yuya Wakamatsu admits he was shocked by Joshua Pacio’s grappling strength in famous ONE victory

Reigning ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio fell short in his bid to make history as the first Filipino fighter to capture two divisional world titles in ONE Championship.

Facing Japan’s Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on November 16 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Pacio ran into one of the promotion’s most dangerous fighters. Wakamatsu demonstrated why he is considered among ONE’s elite, defeating Pacio via a second-round technical knockout in the ONE Flyweight MMA World Title bout.

Despite the loss, Pacio came close to turning the tide, nearly flooring Wakamatsu with a devastating left hook that dropped the champion and forced him into survival mode.

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Wakamatsu admitted in a recent media interaction that Pacio’s grappling strength caught him off guard.

Filipino superstar Joshua Pacio (23-5) saw his bid for two-division glory fall short at ONE 173, as flyweight titleholder Yuya Wakamatsu (20-6) stopped him via second-round TKO in Tokyo. pic.twitter.com/GV0ICidBI2

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“First of all, thank you, everyone, and thank you to my opponent, Joshua Pacio. I was really aiming to finish him in the first round, but he rocked me hard with those shots,” Wakamatsu said.

“He was a lot better than I expected, especially with wrestling. No, I didn’t feel the weight difference at all. He was very strong, especially in the grappling department. But I was able to implement my own game and get the finish,” he added.

Pacio started the fight aggressively, wobbling Wakamatsu with a crisp right-hook combination. However, the Japanese champion quickly regained control, using his physicality and wrestling prowess to dominate the exchanges. Wakamatsu landed heavy punches and finished with a decisive combination in the second round, prompting referee Mohamed Sulaiman to stop the fight at 54 seconds.

“He dropped me with a left hook, but then he came to grapple, and I was still clearing the cobwebs, but his wrestling felt very strong. But I came in prepared to leave it all out in the first round, and when I was able to get to the side of the turtle position, I was throwing ground and pound as hard as I could,” Wakamatsu concluded.

The victory marked Wakamatsu’s fifth consecutive win and his first successful defense of the flyweight title, improving his professional record to 20-6. Pacio, meanwhile, fell to 14-5 in ONE Championship, suffering his first defeat since losing the strawweight belt to Jarred Brooks in Manila in 2022. Following the loss, Pacio is expected to return to the 115-pound division to resume his reign.

It remains to be seen how Pacio will bounce back from this setback, as his camp has yet to announce his next move.

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