Former ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio is enjoying a new environment as he starts the next chapter of his illustrious MMA career. *Former ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio. (ONE Championship media)*
Pacio was among the former Team Lakay stars who joined two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang’s Lions Nation MMA last month, alongside Kevin Belingon, Honorio Banario, Jeremy Pacatiw, and Edward Kelly. While Pacio’s move will certainly be questioned, especially with the success he had while with Team Lakay, he believes this is the right move for him, and he’s excited to see what it brings. “For me, there’s no pressure. From now on, I think it’s really the start of enjoying what we do – particularly in sharing [our knowledge], our openness, and being open-minded with one another,” Pacio said. “What I’m trying to say is that all of our minds will be working together to create even bigger accomplishments and glean even more knowledge from one another. I’m just excited to train with these guys.” The excitement comes with having new coaches Gibran Langbayan and Don-Don Colas at his side. With new coaches come new perspectives, and Pacio is elated to learn from Langbayan, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and Colas, who’s made a name for himself as a striking coach both in MMA and boxing. The new mentors are just what Pacio needs, especially after he lost the ONE Strawweight World Title to Jarred Brooks last December. “I’m super excited to return to the [ONE] Circle while representing Lions Nation MMA. To be working with our new coaches, coach Gibran and coach Don, it’s all about teamwork really. Like my teammates told me back then: ‘Teamwork is listening to each other,’” Pacio said. “There are skills being taught to us that might not work for this fighter but may be super effective against another. Athletes have different sets of strengths and weaknesses from one another. They also have different body types. Those are some things that some need to always remember. Listen to the coaches and to the athletes also.”