The ONE Strawweight MMA World Title is officially back on the line on Friday, July 10, when seven-time titleholder Joshua “The Passion” Pacio defends his undisputed crown against Mansur Malachiev in one of the most highly anticipated rematches in ONE Championship history.
Their monumental clash for gold headlines The Inner Circle 21 inside Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium, broadcasting exclusively in Asia primetime for subscribers at live.onefc.com.
Three rounds of relentless back-and-forth action at ONE Fight Night 15 in October 2023 ended with “The Passion” claiming a hard-fought unanimous decision. The high-stakes sequel carries everything the first fight had, and considerably more on top.
Two elite mixed martial artists. One World Title. Here are four crucial keys to victory in this guaranteed barnburner.
Pacio does not attack like most strawweight fighters, and that elite unpredictability has been one of the defining features of his historic World Title reigns. His striking game operates entirely outside conventional patterns, beautifully mixing feints, unique angles, and explosive combinations.
The first fight, however, offered a revealing glimpse at exactly what the Filipino icon will face on the feet against Malachiev. The Russian is no passive target, even connecting with a spinning back kick in round two that demonstrated both his willingness and his technical ability to match the defending king’s unconventional approach shot for shot.
If “The Passion” is to defend his crown successfully, he will need to be highly selective, precise, and relentless in his offensive output on the feet.
Sharp punches, explosive knee strikes, and well-timed kicks will serve two purposes simultaneously: keep the Dagestani honest and make him think twice about shooting for takedowns. The moment Pacio’s striking becomes predictable or overly conservative, Malachiev’s path to the ground becomes significantly shorter. However, the more varied and dangerous the output, the harder life becomes for the challenger at every single level of the fight.
Malachiev does not just take opponents down — he violently deposits them on the canvas with the kind of force and velocity that leaves them completely disoriented before the real ground work has even begun.
His explosive, high-amplitude takedowns have been one of the signature weapons of his near-perfect 13-1 career, and the unique combination of raw power and variety in his grappling arsenal makes him genuinely dangerous the exact moment he establishes a grip.
Against Pacio, though, that takedown game did not flow as freely as it has against others. The 34-year-old actively struggled to efficiently chain his attempts against the Filipino’s stellar grappling defense, which repeatedly kept the fight standing for much longer stretches than the Russian would have preferred.
Should he actively add creativity into the mix — utilizing heavy feints, rapid level changes, and masking strikes — he might force Pacio into a defensive lapse, which will be absolutely essential before the takedown attempt is initiated.
Once he eventually gets the Lions Nation MMA representative to the canvas, his trips, throws, and dumps open the door to devastating ground-and-pound, and the dynamic of the fight would shift entirely in the Russian’s favor at The Inner Circle 21.
There is a subtle dimension of Joshua Pacio’s game that rarely receives the mainstream attention it deserves, and it may very well prove to be the decisive factor in the rematch.
The ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion’s timing — arguably the sharpest in the entire division — allows him to find clean, highly accurate shots in narrow windows that most fighters at this level would miss entirely.
That world-class timing operates on both sides of the ball. Offensively, it gives him the ability to land precise strikes even against warriors who are actively looking to close the distance. Defensively, it transforms moments of vulnerability into genuine counter-attacking opportunities.
Their first meeting provided the clearest single example of that defensive timing in action. The Universal Fighters standout took Pacio down multiple times across three grueling rounds, but the 30-year-old consistently worked his way into highly dangerous positions — most notably securing Malachiev’s neck for a tight guillotine attempt that almost closed out the show in style.
If that elite timing translates into the rematch with the exact same consistency, Pacio becomes a lethal threat at every range and in every position. In fact, there might not even be a safe moment for Malachiev in Lumpinee Stadium this Friday.
Malachiev is an absolute submission specialist, and within his feared ground-game arsenal, one lethal weapon stands out above all others. Six of his seven career submission victories have come via chokes, including two massive finishes on the global stage.
The Dagestani sensation opened his account in ONE with a slick brabo choke against Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado in June 2023. In his most recent outing, he finished former divisional king Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks via north-south choke. Both statement triumphs demonstrated that his vice-like grip operates at the absolute highest level of the sport.
Against Pacio in their first meeting, however, his go-to weapon did not materialize with the same conviction. The Filipino masterfully fended off Malachiev’s submission attempts and prevented the Russian from fully locking in the trademark chokes that have put multiple opponents to sleep in the past.
In the rematch, Malachiev will need much more than just fleeting opportunities — he will need extreme patience, creativity, and the tactical ability to use his choke threats as a dual weapon.
Even when a choke does not land cleanly, the intense attempt will constantly force Pacio to dedicate his energy and focus to escaping, which could drain the defending king’s gas tank and leave him increasingly open to heavy ground-and-pound from the top position.
For a seven-time World Champion, that is a massive problem that demands an immediate solution, and Friday night at The Inner Circle 21 is exactly where it gets tested.
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