ONE Championship lead commentator and Fox Sports Presenter Steve Dawson gives his take on this championship showdown between two of the best strawweights in the world.
Myanmar gets treated to a duel for the ONE Strawweight World Title at ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS on Friday, 7 October.
Naito is the champion, having dethroned Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke in Bangkok, Thailand, five months ago. His rear-naked choke win late in the fourth round was a big party spoiler for the Thai fighter, who was headlining ONE Championship’s first visit to his home country.
It took Naito’s record to 11-0, but the Japanese fighter won’t be the only unbeaten fighter in this contest.
Pacio, a 20-year-old from the Philippines, is 8-0 and this will be his third fight in the ONE cage. With three KOs and five submissions, Pacio has never been taken the distance.
Against the Thai wrestling champion Kritsada Kongsrichai, it wasn’t a dominant win by any means. But in an all-action contest, the Team Lakay fighter grappled tirelessly to win by rear naked choke late in the first round and earn his shot for the belt at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon.
Lakay fighters have been on an unreal tear in recent times after a slump that needed head coach Mark Sangiao’s masterful intervention. After Pacio’s challenge, his thoughts will move ahead to the showdown in Singapore between Team Lakay’s flagship fighter Eduard Folayang and ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki.
Naito’s victory over Dejdamrong was a thrilling affair, after a good opening round for the Thai man, the Japanese developed a slight edge over the first ten minutes according to my colleague Rich Franklin’s unofficial scorecard at cageside. After a close third round, Naito still had Franklin’s call by a razor-thin margin. But it was the fourth stanza that made all the difference.
After catching a long head kick, Naito worked his man to the ground, and after a draining grappling battle, he eventually submitted Dejdamrong.
With Naito now 32 years old, there is a 12-year age difference between these two, and it’s likely to work in Naito’s favour. Pacio isn’t yet all that he can be, while Naito’s experience and generally higher level should take care of the youngster’s tenacity, probably via submission.
Somewhere, Dejdamrong will be waiting, watching and badgering Matt Hume for a shot at being the first man to hold the strawweight title twice, sometime in 2017.
Steve Dawson is ONE Championship’s lead commentator, a Fox Sports presenter and an author of sporting biographies. He can be found on Twitter & Instagram as @Gulasahi and on Facebook as Steve Dawson.
