ONE: Joshua Pacio gets new opponent for first strawweight defense

ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio will be making his first title defense against a different foe in the main event of ONE: Eternal Glory next month in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pacio, one of four current world champions out of Team Lakay, was initially set to face Hayato Suzuki in a rematch but he’s now scheduled to take on another Japanese challenger in Yosuke Saruta on January 19.

Saruta was tapped as a replacement for reasons yet to be disclosed.

The 31-year-old Saruta has won eight of his last 10 fights.

He is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Alex Silva earlier this month in his ONE Championship debut.

The much-younger Pacio, 22, won the gold strap after beating Yoshitaka Naito three months ago on points.