ONE Championship: Joshua Pacio confirms Team Lakay exit, sets sights on ‘reclaiming the title’
- Pacio was one of the Filipino MMA gym’s most accomplished fighters, but will train elsewhere going forward
- Former ONE strawweight MMA champ follows Eduard Folayang and Kevin Belingon, who announced departures last week
Joshua Pacio is no longer part of Team Lakay.
The former ONE Championship strawweight MMA king confirmed his departure from the Baguio City, Philippines-based gym in a Facebook post on Monday, following in the footsteps of his stablemates Eduard Folayang and Kevin Belingon, who revealed their decisions to take their training elsewhere last week.
“I’d like to start this off by giving thanks to the people that helped mould me through my formative years, namely the members of Team Lakay led by our dear coach Mark Sangiao,” the 27-year-old wrote, insinuating an amicable split with the team and its head coach.
“I wouldn’t be a world champion in ONE Championship without the guidance of Coach Mark Sangiao.”
Like Folayang and Belingon, Pacio (20-4) cited a desire to learn and evolve as the main reason for his departure from Team Lakay, which has served as his training home for the whole of his illustrious MMA career.
“There is a saying that champions never rest on their laurels and must continue sharpening their skills,” he wrote.
“In my quest to better myself and reclaim the belt that was once mine, I have decided that moving out of the fabled stable that gave Filipino fight fans much to cheer for inside the Circle is the path that I have to take.
“I believe that stepping out of my comfort zone is the way to level up my overall skills in the world of combat sports.”
ONE: Folayang, Belingon leave Team Lakay in end of an era
Pacio, who began his career as a flyweight, first challenged for ONE strawweight gold in Yangon, Myanmar in October 2016, when he took on Japan’s Yoshitaka Naito. He lost that fight by submission, but then defeated Naito by decision in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018 to claim the title on his second try.
He surrendered the title in his first defence, losing a split decision to Japan’s Yosuke Saruta in Jakarta.
He then reclaimed the title with a stunning head-kick knockout of Saruta, this time on home soil in Manila, Philippines, and went on to defend the belt three times, submitting Rene Catalan, defeating Alex Silva by decision, and finally knocking out Saruta again.
He lost the title last December when he suffered a competitive decision defeat to surging American star Jarred Brooks in Manila.
He does not currently have a fight booked, but was offered a shot at redemption by Brooks himself soon after their fight.
It is not clear where he intends to train going forward.
Team Lakay is far and away the most successful MMA gym in the Philippines, producing multiple ONE title-holders, including Folayang and Belingon, who reigned over the lightweight and bantamweight divisions respectively.
The recent exodus of fighters from the gym represents the end of an era for both the team and ONE.
