Joshua Pacio Gets Team Lakay Reinforcement For High-Stakes ONE 158

ONE Championship strawweight king Joshua Pacio is set to defend his title against American grappler Jarred Brooks in the main event of ONE 158, but he will not go into battle alone.

The International Business Times has learned that fellow Team Lakay atomweight star Jenelyn Olsim will be competing at the same event against Brazil’s Julie Mezabarba.

Olsim, 25, was last seen by fight fans back in October 2021 when she squared off against Ritu Phogat in the semifinals of the ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix at ONE: NextGen.

Though her bid for a spot in the finals was foiled by “The Indian Tigress,” Olsim has remained active in honing her craft as she is set to compete at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The rising atomweight star will be representing the Philippines in the Vietnamese martial art of vovinam which will last from Wednesday, May 18 to Sunday, May 22.

With June 3 set to be date for her match with Mezabarba, Olsim will have roughly two weeks to prepare.

Taking a fight on such short notice might be detrimental to some, but for a fighter that is looking to always get better, agreeing to a bout that soon only shows that she wants to keep her name relevant in the division.

“Every day is a blessing for it allows us to refocus on what is important and what motivates us to keep going. Take full advantage of this blessing,” Olsim said of her next big opportunity.

Before her loss to Phogat, the Muay Thai-heavy fighter has been strutting her stuff in the strawweight division with a third-round submission victory over Maira Mazar in March 2021 then taking home the unanimous decision victory over Bi Nguyen in her atomweight debut five months later.

Olsim was originally supposed to face Jihin Radzuan at ONE: Bad Blood in February this year but had to pull out due to injury.

Just like Olsim, Mezabarba also competed in the semifinals of the aforementioned tourney but lost to eventual Grand Prix winner Stamp Fairtex by unanimous decision.

A respectable striker in her own right, the Brazilian made her maiden promotional appearance against Japanese grappler Mei Yamaguchi in September 2021 and has recorded three knockout victories outside of ONE Championship.

With both women looking to make their way back into the winner’s circle, Olsim and Mezabarba will look to throw the knockout blow for the better part of their three-round encounter.