Joshua Pacio says Lions Nation MMA is buzzing with energy after his world title win: "They were invigorated"
Newly crowned ONE strawweight MMA world champion 'The Passion' Joshua Pacio is the king once more.
The 28-year-old Baguio City, Philippines native captured the gold again, albeit in controversial fashion, with his first-round disqualification victory over American rival 'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks in Qatar.
Pacio and Brooks locked horns at the historic ONE 166: Qatar at the Lusail Sports Arena last March 1st. After Brooks dumped Pacio on his head, an illegal move under ONE Championship's global martial arts rule set, 'The Monkey God' was disqualified and Pacio became the new champion.
Bringing the belt back to Baguio City at Lions Nation MMA headquarters, the gym which Pacio co-founded with Filipino MMA legend Eduard 'Landslide' Folayang, 'The Passion' came home a hero.
Speaking to The MMA Superfan YouTube channel in a recent interview, Pacio said he was able to inspire his teammates at Lions Nation MMA, and everyone is in high spirits.
'The Passion' said:
"I believe their faith in God grew stronger and they were invigorated because I got my belt back. And there's a world champion in our gym."
Pacio was once a prominent member of Team Lakay, Baguio City's storied martial arts team. However, he and a handful of veteran members left and formed their team. That's how Lions Nation MMA was born.
Joshua Pacio says training camp for Jarred Brooks rematch was toughest ever: "It was all worth it"
Though he didn't exactly win the way he had imagined, Joshua Pacio says taking home the belt feels bittersweet. On the one hand, Pacio certainly didn't prove he was better than Jarred Brooks that night. On the other hand, 'The Passion' worked so hard to beat him, that it paid off in the end.
He told The MMA Superfan:
"My team and everyone who supports me, especially my family, know everything I went through. The injury I had before the fight, only a few people knew about that. The fact that I was offloaded on my first try going to Qatar. After all the struggles, in the end, it was all worth it. Satisfaction and difficulty-wise, I consider this 95 percent for me."