Joshua Pacio is extra motivated to fight once more here in the Philippines as ONE Championship is set to return in Manila on December.
It's like hitting two birds with one stone for Pacio as the Team Lakay stalwart will be defending his belt against top contender Jarred Brooks in ONE 164.
The last time that the 26-year-old Pacio fought at the Mall of Asia Arena was against Alex Silva and won via split decision last January 2020.
"I’m really excited because the last time I fought there was no audience and hopefully there will be one when we do the event here in the Philippines," said Pacio.
This factor alone gave all the more reason for Pacio to have an additional boost heading into his fourth straight title defense.
"It motivates me even more because I’ll be defending my world title in front of my countrymen and I hope that I won’t be the only fighter from the gym to fight in this card. I wish that there’d be five or even six of us from Team Lakay so that it’ll be an awesome experience," added the reigning strawweight champion.
Pacio last saw action last September 2021 and settled the trilogy against Yosuke Saruta, knocking out the Japanese rival in the first round.
The 29-year-old Brooks, for his part, has yet to be defeated since his ONE debut, beating the likes of strawweight contenders in Lito Adiwang, Pacio's teammate, Hiroba Minowa, and Bokang Masunyane.
His three-match win streak in the Singapore-based promotion easily propelled him to the top of the strawweight division, making him the ultimate contender up against Pacio.