The mixed martial arts trilogy between the Philippines and Japan is on.
Reigning ONE Championship strawweight king Joshua Pacio is set to defend his title for the third time against No. 1 contender Yosuke Saruta in the co-main event of ONE: Revolution on Sep. 24.
READ: Pacio renews desire for Saruta trilogy
It has been a long-time coming for the decider as both fighters last met in April 2019, where Pacio avenged his loss to the Japanese icon by knocking him out with a head kick to reclaim the strawweight belt.
The 25-year-old Pacio first captured the title with a unanimous decision win against No. 2 Yoshitaka Naito, also of Japan, in September 2018 before Saruta stripped him of the belt with a split decision win in January 2019.
READ: Joshua Pacio unfazed despite being the lone Filipino MMA champion
Pacio, who last saw action in January 2020 with a split decision win against Alex Silva of Brazil, has been hoping for ONE Championship to push through with the trilogy since both of them are on top of the leaderboards.
Since then, Pacio rode on a three-win match streak including back-to-back title defenses against compatriot Rene Catalan in November 2019.
READ: Pacio downplays being labeled as 'new face of PH MMA'
The Team Lakay champion holds a 19-3 record while Saruta owns a 21-9-3 slate.
Meanwhile, the showdown between Lito Adiwang and China's Hexigetu will finally push through in the lead card.
READ: Joshua Pacio wary of stacked strawweight division, remains ready to defend title
Namiki Kawahara, who eventually lost to Adiwang via knockout, served as a replacement for Hexigetu last January.
Adiwang was supposed to face world No. 1 strawweight Jarred Brooks last April but the bout was scrapped after the Team Lakay fighter tested positive for COVID-19.
READ: Joshua Pacio silences critic on social media: You know nothing of what we do
Another Filipino in Roel Rosauro will return to the Circle against undefeated American James Yang since beating Yohan Mulia Legowo of Indonesia in January last year.