Alex Silva on split decision loss to Pacio: ‘I feel I had the fight’

former ONE strawweight World champion Alex Silva. INQUIRER PHOTO/TRISTAN TAMAYO

MANILA, Philippines—Alex Silva isn’t a fan of accepting a loss in a disputed fashion.

The former ONE strawweight world champion lost to current titleholder Joshua Pacio in the main event of ONE: Fire and Fury via split decision but Silva admitted having a hard time accepting the outcome.

“It’s hard to take decisions, right now I need to watch the match and see what happened,” said Silva. “I really don’t know, I don’t want to take a decision like that because I feel I had the fight.”

Silva (9-5) and Pacio (17-3) are two contrasting fighters with the latter being a submission specialist while the 23-year-old champion is more of a striker than grappler.

Pacio, who trains under the banner of the iconic Team Lakay, has his roots in wushu but his record tells more than his style with nine of his 17 wins coming via submission.

Silva’s nine victories include eight tapouts.

“I handled his strikes, I was able to take him down and control him a couple of times,” said Silva of the fight that predominantly saw Pacio avoid the ground as much as possible.

Nevertheless, the 37-year-old Silva was impressed with how Pacio fought in their match.

“He’s the champion, he’s a good kid, he has good striking and ground game,” said Silva. “He’s a tough kid and he deserves to be on top of the division.”