Joshua Pacio carved out a nerve-wracking, hard-fought split decision victory over former champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke at ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM last March 11, 2017 inside a jampacked Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand to improve his MMA career record to nine wins against a single loss.
Both Pacio and Amnuaysirichoke are coming off from failures to take over the ONE Strawweight title as both lost by rear-naked choke submission to current ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito in their last bouts and are trying to get back on track for a possible rematch with the champ.
Pacio took control of the first two rounds of the action filled bout loss by taking the fight to the ground before surviving Amnuaysirichoke’s desperate charge in the third to eke out the hard-earned victory.
Pacio limited his losing streak to just one and his victory over Amnuaysirichoke further improves his chances of securing a rematch against Naito, who is undefeated in 12 MMA career matches.
Pacio was unsuccessful in dethroning Yoshitaka Naito as king of the ONE Strawweight World Championship title last October 7, 2016.
Amnuaysirichoke suffers his second-straight loss, dropping to 6-2, although these losses are against remarkable opponents in Pacio and Naito. His loss to Naito occurred during the One Championship 43 – Kingdom of Champions last May 27, 2016 where he failed to wrest the ONE strawweight title.
Pacio was the lone successful Filipino MMA fighter among the four entries of the card.
Richard “Lionheart” Corminal was knockout cold at the 3:37 mark of the first by Thai Shannon “Oneshin” Wiratchai after absorbing a crushing right hook. Corminal was making his debut fight in the ONE Championship. His MMA fight record now stands at 4-2.
Ramon “The Bicolano” Gonzales succumbed to a verbal submission 3:21 in the second round against Thailand’s Yodsanan Sityodtong. Gonzales in now 0-2 in ONE appearances and is 1-2 overall in his career.
Gonzales was earlier effective going for submission moves. An explosive punch delivered by Sityodtong early in the second round change the complexion of the bout as Gonzales started absorbing right hands and was clearly spent after being corner against the fence.
Rabin “The Rock” Catalan was knockout in the first round on strikes by Thailand’s Pongsiri Mitsatit. Catalan remained without a victory in two ONE Championship appearances. He previously lost to Pacio in Global Rivals last 2015. His loss drops his MMA career record to 4-3.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
