By Jan Carlo Anolin
MANILA – Joshua Pacio defended his ONE Strawweight title after defeating Brazilian challenger Alex Silva via split decision in ONE Fire & Fury Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Joshua Pacio defends the ONE Strawweight title after defeating Brazilian Alex Silva in ONE: Fire & Fury at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, January 31, 2020. (MB Photo / Rio Deluvio)
Pacio proved he’s one versatile fighter and beat Silva, a blackbelter in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, at his own game.
The match featured grappling and striking all throughout five rounds, with most time spent on ground game.
ONE Strawweight champion Joshua Pacio, right, and Brazilian challenger Alex Silva exchange blows during ONE: Fire & Fury at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, January 31, 2020. (MB Photo / Rio Deluvio)
Silva took down Pacio in all rounds and eyed for submission but Pacio’s training came into fruition and he found ways to escape the Brazilian challenger.
The two would eventually be back on their feet and continue with the same fighting style.
The 24-year-old defending champion downplayed his performance and vowed to come back stronger with more equipped grappling skills.
“I need to work more,” Pacio said. “I didn’t get the finish that we’re expecting but I need to work more on my ground game and follow up striking
Coach Mark Sangiao, however, had nothing but praises for the Team Lakay champion.
“Silva is a world champion, a BJJ champion, and all of his attempts… Joshua managed to escape,” Sangiao said. “We can see a lot of improvement on the ground with Joshua.
“He (Pacio) even attempted a foot lock in the first round but Silva had escaped.”
Pieter Buist of the Netherlands, meanwhile, handed Team Lakay its lone loss of the night after beating Eduard Folayang via split decision in the lightweight bout.
Buist survived Folayang’s early attempt at guillotine choke in the opening canto, Dutchman retaliating the next round in ground game.
The third round turned out to be crucial as Buist wasted no time and stunned Folayang with a solid head kick, giving him an opening for the submission although he failed. The 6-foot-2 Dutchman continued the offensive before Folayang rushed for the submission attempt with 30 seconds left.
In another fight, coming off a loss to Demetrious Johnson last October in the flyweight grand prix final, Danny Kingad delivered this time and won via unanimous decision over Chinese opponent Xie Wei.
The two opened the first round with a exchange of blows before Kingad attempted to submit Wei after catching and slamming him to the ground.
Wei got the upper hand in the second round and kept Kingad pressed against the cage walls but the Filipino fighter countered with solid low kicks.
In the third round, the referees warned Wei twice — for an accidental headbutt and a knee strike at the back of the head — after taking down Kingad. As the match progressed, the 24-year-old Filipino survived a submission scare from Wei.
Lito Adiwang, one of the crowd favorite matches, highlighted the lead card after submitting Thai foe Pongsiri Mitsatit with a kimura lock at the 3:02 mark of the first round to win the strawweight bout.
Adiwang displayed his signature aggressive fighting style and landed a solid right leg kick that sent Mitsatit to the floor early in the first round.
The 26-year-old fighter from Benguet didn’t stop there and unloaded a barrage of punches before Mitsatit recovered.
Adiwang failed to submit Mitsatit on the first attempt but after getting into the right position, the “Thunder Kid” lived up to his moniker and went for the thunderous finish.
In the atomweight division, Gina Iniong, 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in kickboxing, prevailed over Asha Roka of India via unanimous decision.
Iniong showed her ground game early in the first round, capitalizing on the top position while pounding Roka with hammerfists.
In the second round, the 30-year-old Filipina landed a solid leg kick and once again took down Roka. Keeping Roka locked, Iniong aimed for the finish with a guillotine choke but the Indian foe was saved by the bell.
Iniong dominated most of the ground game in the final round before the 21-year-old Roka turned more aggressive, hoping for a knockout in the waning seconds.
Meanwhile, referees called the match between Jomary Torres of the Catalan Fighting System and Taipei’s Jenny Huang a ‘no contest.’
Huang landed two illegal strikes on Torres’ groin, prompting the referee to make the decision. Torres was unable to proceed with the match due to the pain.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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