Pacio admits being too aggressive in loss to Suzuki

MACAU—Joshua Pacio could’ve booked himself another title shot in the ONE Championship strawweight division, but that wouldn’t be the case after he bowed out in the first round of his fight against Hayato Suzuki.

The Filipino fighter admitted he was to aggressive in his Saturday fight against Suzuki in ONE Championship: Kings & Conquerors at Cotai Arena here and that led to his eventual defeat.

“I think I was too aggressive because I was really looking for that early knockout,” said Pacio (9-2), whose first strike attempt was a looping roundhouse kick right off the bell, in Filipino.

“My first roundhouse didn’t have any setup, I just wanted to throw it away because I was expecting that we will exchange in striking but this is MMA.”

Pacio’s first defeat was against strawweight champion Yoshitaka Naito in October of 2016 and a win over Suzuki was meant to be a stepping stone for the 21-year-old to vie for the belt once more.

Photo from ONE Championship

Suzuki (17-0-2) found the opening right about the first minute mark when he got Pacio’s back and the Japanese eventually dragged the fight to the ground. 

For almost a couple of minutes, Suzuki had Pacio in his control and he applied the rear-naked choke around the three-minute mark.

“Suzuki had the better position and he knew how to properly place his legs and arms to prevent me from moving,” said Pacio. “He knew how to position himself and that’s where he got me.”