Team Lakay's legend in Singapore continues as Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio and Lito Adiwang scored contrasting victory in last night's ONE: REVOLUTION at the Singapore Stadium.
The 25-year-old Pacio needed less than a round to finish old nemesis Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta, as he capped off their World Title trilogy in style with a sensational TKO victory.
In what may have foreshadowed the finish just minutes later, the first real action came when Pacio caught Saruta’s low kick and landed a grazing overhand right, which pushed the #1-ranked contender off-balance. However, the Team Lakay standout failed to capitalize on that opportunity.
The match continued in much of the same manner, with the Wajutsu Keishukai Hearts representative trying to break into Pacio’s defense with his boxing while the reigning titleholder softened his foe with kicks.
Learning from their earlier exchange, the Filipino once again caught Saruta going low with his kicks, and he was right on target with his overhand right, which wobbled the Japanese challenger.
Saruta tried to escape, but there was no running from Pacio. He refused to let “The Ninja” off the hook, connecting with a booming left hand that sent the 34-year-old to the Circle Wall.
“It’s really about who’s going to find the right opening in this match, and I did it,” Pacio told Mitch Chilson during his post-fight interview.
“We’ve been working on all of our strengths and weaknesses. We’re working on our counters as well. We’re working on our offense, and you can see it [in that finish].”
The win pushed Pacio to 20-3, as he defended the ONE Strawweight World Title for the third time. He also upped his records for the most wins in ONE strawweight history (9), most ONE Strawweight World Title fights (7), and most ONE Strawweight World Title fight victories (5).
In the process, he defeated Saruta for the second straight time after losing by split decision in their first World Title affair back in January 2019.
His next challenger is yet to be determined, but the likes of Bokang Masunyane, Hiroba Minowa, and Jarred “Monkey God” Brooks could all present dangerous threats in the strawweight division.
Adiwang meanwhile put on a commanding display against “Wolf of the Grasslands” Hexigetu in their strawweight mixed martial arts clash, and after 15 minutes of action, the 28-year-old from Benguet, Philippines, earned the unanimous decision win.
The Filipino star controlled the tempo of the bout from the opening bell, pressuring his Chinese opponent to engage in a stand-up battle with him. Adiwang utilized his striking prowess, and even connected with a flying right kick that caught Hexigetu off guard. He did not give any room for the China Top Team athlete to operate, and even when Hexigetu tried, he was punished by “Thunder Kid’s” rock-solid kicks to the midsection.
Hexigetu was almost immediately on the back foot again in round two, as the Team Lakay superstar switched things around by chopping his opponent’s lead leg with heavy inside leg kicks. Every time he took the fight to the “Wolf of the Grasslands”, the Chinese martial artist had little to nothing to offer.
Adiwang got things off to another cracking start in the third and final round, uncorking a three-two combination that found the mark. He continued to damage his foe with his versatile striking arsenal, flying in with head kicks and more combinations that forced the Chinese athlete to the edge of the Circle.
“Wolf of the Grasslands” did attempt to swing the round in his favor on a couple of occasions, but Adiwang was always one step ahead, and that was enough to cap off a memorable night for “Thunder Kid”. SCORE
(Lito Adiwang with Team Lakay's trademark flying knee. ONE photo)
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