ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio faces one of the toughest tests of his career when he returns to action at The Inner Circle 21 in Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium on Friday.

The Filipino MMA megastar defends his divisional gold in a rematch against Russian warrior Mansur Malachiev on the Asia primetime card, which will be available exclusively to subscribers at live.onefc.com.

They first cross paths on the global stage of ONE Championship back at ONE Fight Night 15 in October 2023. Both athletes held nothing back in search of a victory inside the Mecca of Muay Thai that evening.

Malachiev utilized his world-class takedowns and grappling game against the Lions Nation MMA co-founder throughout the fight. The Universal Fighters athlete even displayed glimpses of his ability in the striking department.

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However, Joshua Pacio showed superb defensive tactics whenever he was on the canvas, even coming extremely close to wrapping the fight late in the match with a guillotine choke attempt.

Then, whenever the fight was on the feet, "The Passion" had the better of the exchanges on his way to a unanimous decision win after three intense rounds of action.

Malachiev, who was then undefeated, though, thought he had done enough to get his hand raised. Almost three years on, the Dagestani submission hunter has yet to accept the loss.

Here is our prediction for this hotly anticipated rematch in the main event of The Inner Circle 21 in Lumpinee Stadium on Friday.

Joshua Pacio outlasted Mansur Malachiev the first time, and I see the Filipino doing it all over again in this rematch across five rounds.

His unorthodox striking should keep Malachiev guessing on the feet. Moreover, he has sharp counters when the Russian overcommits, and world-class defensive timing to shut down the takedowns that have carried Malachiev's rise.

The trademark chokes will come. Pacio's grappling IQ will keep him out of trouble. Malachiev will have his moments, likely dragging things to the canvas and testing "The Passion's" guard for stretches.

But by the championship rounds, the Filipino fighter's cardio, ring IQ and title-fight experience should shine through to seal a clean unanimous decision.

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