Pacio submits Malachiev to defend ONE strawweight MMA title

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Joshua Pacio’s reign as ONE Championship strawweight world champion continues after defeating Mansur Malachiev via a first-round submission during the main event of ONE: The Inner Circle 21 at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 10, 2026.

With only 37 seconds left in the first round, the Filipino mixed martial artist successfully defended his belt with a slick rear-naked choke submission that officially ended the Dagestani’s revenge tour.

Both fighters met inside the ring three years ago during ONE Fight Night 15, with Pacio hacking out a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Malachiev.

During the buildup to the rematch, Malachiev was vocal about knowing Pacio’s weaknesses and being ready to pull off a lopsided victory.

However, the more experienced Pacio took him to school, gave him a dose of his own medicine, and beat him in the area where Malachiev has long excelled — the ground.

Pacio had to endure an early avalanche from Malachiev as the grappling specialist scored the first takedown of the championship match, forcing the Filipino to react with a quick sprawl.

After landing a few ground-and-pound strikes, Malachiev established top position, immediately securing control to dictate the tempo.

As expected, Malachiev applied immense pressure on the ground and captured Pacio’s back, a clear signal that he was setting up a tight choke.

Pacio was visibly in danger and admitted that he was close to tapping out, but his Brazilian jiu-jitsu training paid off when he managed to escape the precarious position.

To complete the impressive defensive counter, Pacio timed Malachiev’s positional shift to perfection and relied on strong leg control to reverse their positions.

All of a sudden, Pacio scrambled back into top position, punishing the exhausted Malachiev with several punches before locking in the rear-naked choke.

Malachiev refused to tap despite Pacio’s tight submission hold, but the Filipino eventually sealed the victory with only 37 seconds left in the opening round to clinch another successful title defense.

“This is all about my faith, that’s why I’m here,” Pacio said during the post-fight interview.

“You can see me for many years holding this belt. We’ve prepared hard for this, my striking coach, my grappling coach, we’ve mixed things up. We know that he will go for his bread and butter, which is the takedown. I got nearly submitted, but it’s all about perseverance.”

With the win, Pacio improved his professional MMA record to 24 wins and five losses, including 10 victories by knockout, while Malachiev dropped to 14 wins and two losses.