Joshua Pacio believes the newly formed Lions Nation MMA team will take the mixed martial arts world by storm in the coming years.
The former ONE strawweight MMA king returned to the win column last Friday when he ended Mansur Malachiev’s undefeated streak at ONE Fight Night 15.
Pacio wasn’t the only Filipino fighter to break his slump, as his teammate and fellow former ONE world champion Eduard Folayang also scored a come-from-behind knockout win over Amir Khan a week earlier at ONE Fight Night 14.
Speaking to reporters during his ONE FIght Night 15 post-event interview, Pacio praised Folayang for his vintage performance, claiming that the 39-year-old still has a lot left in the tank:
“We are here to stay in ONE Championship. And, you know, Eduard is here to stay. And that performance was very spectacular. That’s a statement, that he’s still here despite his age, he’s still hungry.”
Moreover, ‘The Passion’ added that critics should not sleep on the rest of his team, which also includes rising star Jeremy Pacatiw and former world titleholders Kevin Belingon and Honorio Banario:
“And, of course, my other teammates are also hungry to come back and I hope they’re going to fight in November, December, or the upcoming months.”
Joshua Pacio and Eduard Folayang were part of the highly publicized Team Lakay exodus earlier this year, as they expanded their horizons and formed their own gym in the mountains of Cordillera.
Lions Nation is off to a 2-1 start in ONE Championship after Pacio and Folayang’s respective victories. Unfortunately, their teammate Jenelyn Olsim fell short against Jihin Radzuan at ONE Friday Fights 35.
In the meantime, fans can can relive the Filipino stars’ massive victories by watching the replay of ONE Fight Night 14 and ONE Fight Night 15. The action-packed cards are available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Here’s Joshua Pacio’s full interview in its entirety:
