There is much to remember about ONE Championship this year, but it’s tough to pinpoint one single fight as the best. 

From the memorable Rodtang-Superlek clash to Stamp Fairtex making history as three-sport queen to the epic weekly barnburners at ONE Friday Fights, there wasn’t any shortage of action to pick from. 

For those who still can’t decide, allow former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio to decide his favorite fights and best moments of 2023, per sport.

Submission Grappling: Mikey Musumeci vs. Shinya Aoki 

Immediately after beating Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 15, Pacio witnessed the clash between the old guard and the new sheriff in town when Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki took on ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci in an openweight grappling super-fight. 

It was a match that has been etched into Pacio’s mind. 

Having seen Aoki score wins with his signature “Aoki lock” – a modified ankle lock – many times before, Pacio was surprised to see the young Musumeci pull off the same move on the legend. 

“It’s like mentor versus next-gen. And then Musumeci used the Aoki lock on him. That was nice momentum,” Pacio said. 

Kickboxing/Muay Thai: Jonathan Haggerty’s Rise

There were a lot of moments to pick from in the striking arts this year, but if Pacio is to be asked, Jonathan Haggerty being crowned a two-sport ONE World Champion certainly takes the cake. 

The Englishman stopped Nong-O’s reign of terror in the ONE Muay Thai bantamweight division to claim the World Title before winning the vacant kickboxing belt over MMA kingpin Fabricio Andrade.

“Oh man, in the world of striking, I can’t pinpoint one moment or one fight. But one thing that truly stood out to me was Jonathan Haggerty’s rise to two-sport dominance. He dominated both fights, starting with Nong-O, and then finishing Andrade,” he said. 

Pacio further added that Haggerty’s decision to move up a weight class was one of the best decisions he’s seen in combat sports. 

“I truly believe that bantamweight is the perfect weight class for Haggerty. Not flyweight. He looks dry at flyweight,” he said. 

“Sure he’s a very good fighter as a flyweight, but at bantamweight? He’s a different beast.” 
 

MMA: Sage Northcut’s Comeback Win

Surprisingly, Pacio’s best MMA moment didn’t come from any of his friends or teammates. It was Sage Northcutt’s return to MMA when ONE broke ground in the United States for ONE Fight Night 10. 

After years of inactivity, Northcutt returned to action and submitted Ahmed Mujtaba after he himself was about to get finished once more.

Though he wasn’t competing, Pacio was there as a fan and certainly enjoyed what he saw from Northcutt. 

“I was really up on my feet. He was groggy, he got hit, then suddenly he flipped the coin with that heel hook. You see the presence of mind of Sage, and he got the win in the most spectacular way,” he said. 

Pacio is also a fan of Northcutt’s comeback story, noting how “Super Sage” nearly retired only to return and win in spectacular fashion. 

“For years he’s been bothered by that loss and that face injury. He mulled over retirement, he was out for awhile, but he came back and got that redemption win against a dangerous opponent,” he said. 

“I’d like to see him fight kuya Eduard [Folayang] in the future.”