ONE Championship fighters among PSA honorees

Team Lakay brandishing four ONE Championship titleholders

The Philippine Sportswriters Association is set to fete the best of Philippines sports in the past year at their Annual Awards Night tonight, and among those being celebrated are the recent feats of Filipino fighters in the mixed martial arts realm.

Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio, Joshua Pacio, and Brandon Vera will be receiving citations from the PSA after securing titles in ONE Championship in 2018, winning all twelve matches they participated in.

Folayang shares, "It's an honor, definitely. It's always a blessing to be in this position and be recognized for what we do. We hope that through this, we will continue to inspire others."

The man called "Landslide" reclaimed his ONE Lightweight World Title with a unanimous decision victory over Amir Khan at ONE: Conquest of Champions this past November. It is that same event where Vera successfully defended his ONE Heavyweight World Title in, defeating Mauro Cerilli.

The Silencer became the ONE Bantamweight World Champion after a split decision victory over Bibiano Fernandes last November in a much-anticipated rematch.

Eustaquio kickstarted a strong 2018 for Filipino MMA with a unanimous decision win over Kairat Akhmetov back in January to claim the ONE Flyweight title in ONE: Global Superheroes. He would then face off against rival Adriano Moraes in two title defenses, first defeating the Brazilian via split decision in ONE: Pinnacle of Power back in June before dropping the title last month with a unanimous decision loss at ONE: Hero's Ascent, to complete the first trilogy in ONE Championship's history.

Pacio claimed the ONE Strawweight World Title by defeating Yoshitaka Naito in ONE: Conquest of Heroes back in September, but would then drop the belt in a controversial split decision loss against Yosuke Saruta in ONE: Eternal Glory last month.

Other notable awardees set to be feted at the SMC-PSA Annual Awards Night include current WBO mini-flyweight champion Vic Saludar and trainer Buboy Fernandez.

2018 Asian Games gold medalists Hidilyn Diaz (weightlifting), Margielyn Didal (skateboarding), Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan, and Lois Kaye Go (golf) are set to be named as the Athletes of the Year.

Joshua Pacio seeks Macao repeat

Joshua "The Passion" Pacio

Team Lakay's Joshua Pacio wants to replicate his last visit to Macao when he faces Hayato Suzuki on ONE: Kings and Conquerors this coming August 5.

A year ago, "The Passion" was part of the first-ever MMA event ONE Championship organized in the Special Administrative Region, ONE: Heroes of the World. At that event, he forced Thai grappler Kritsada Kongsrichai to submit at the 4:37 mark of the first round due to a rear-naked choke.

The 21-year-old Baguio native did not mince his excitement in being part of ONE: Kings and Conquerors, "I love fighting in Macao. The venue is so awesome. It's truly world-class. Furthermore, there are a lot of Filipinos living and working there. Whenever I compete there, it feels like I am fighting back home. The energy is palpable. I can't wait to be back."

Pacio will have a formidable opponent in Suzuki, a well-rounded warrior armed with heavy hands and technical grappling skills. The Japanese has a 16-0-2 record, with eleven wins coming by way of a finish. When asked about his upcoming match, Joshua says, "It's going to be an action-packed fight. I cannot be complacent. Moreover, I have to be two steps or three steps ahead of him."

He adds, "He's never been knocked out. He's never been submitted. He's undefeated. This is MMA. Anything can happen. My skills versus his skills will be incredible. This will be one of the fights that will be remembered because he will showcase his skills and I will showcase mine, so you had better watch it."

Pacio is fresh from beating Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke, although he acknowledges that there is "room for improvement." He shared that, "This time, we enhanced timing and precision. We added speed as well as proper executions of game plan."

Make sure to check out www.onefc.com for the latest updates on ONE Championship.