Reigning ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio is keeping an eye on the winner between No. 3 contender Jarred Brooks and No. 4 ranked Hiroba Minowa.
Pacio, who is raring to defend his title for the third straight time, is still on the waiting game since settling business with Japanese rival Yosuke Saruta with a first-round knockout in September last year.
"Gaya ng sabi ko noon, tayo 'yong nasa taas ng food chain. 'Yong trabaho natin is to level up every single day and 'yon 'yong goal namin (We're on the top of the food chain. Our job is to level up every single day and that's our goal)," said Pacio, who improved to a 20-3 record.
"'Yong last na outing ko kasi parang mas marami pa sana tayong maipapakita. Sa next outing is doon natin papakita 'yong more complete na athlete, more complete na Joshua Pacio (I could have shown more in my last outing. So for my next fight, I will show a more complete version of Joshua Pacio)."
And as far as the Brooks-Minowa showdown in ONE: Only the Brave on Jan. 28, Pacio believes that it will be a good and close fight but the Team Lakay stalwart is rooting for the Japanese fighter should the match extend to the fourth or fifth round.
Another possible matchup for Pacio would be against Bokang Masunyane, who is the No. 1 ranked strawweight fighter.
Pacio reiterated that he's ready to face anyone in the Top 5 but the final decision will boil down to ONE Championship.
After spending the holidays, Pacio said he returned to training right away with less conditioning but focused more on improving his skill set and applying his techniques.