KEY POINTS

  • Joshua Pacio says that Demetrious Johnson should face Danny Kingad
  • Kingad and Johnson fought in the finals of the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix, with the latter winning
  • Pacio is open to a flyweight fight, but his focus is exclusively on defending his title

Joshua Pacio, the strawweight king of ONE Championship, would love to fight Demetrious Johnson but has a better fight in mind for the former UFC flyweight champion.

“For me, it would be awesome to test myself against one of the greatest [fighters], but I think Danny [Kingad] and DJ (Demetrious Johnson) would be a great rematch,” Pacio revealed to the International Business Times in an exclusive interview.

Team Lakay member Danny Kingad and Johnson fought each other in a fiery show of skill back in October 2019 for the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship.

Johnson took control of the fight in the first round after taking the Filipino down to the ground, almost netting a submission victory via a kimura attempt in the last minute.

“The King” came back in the second round after dropping the American with a lead left hook before the American shot for a takedown to take the fight once again to the ground.

Kingad showed some signs of life in the third round after a trip takedown of Johnson but failed to capitalize on the opportunity, leading to another grappling exchange and then a takedown from the American en route to the unanimous decision victory.

Pacio believes that Kingad will have a better shot at beating Johnson if ONE Championship orders a rematch.

“I think Danny has a big chance of winning against DJ now. He leveled up more than the last time they fought. The level of Danny right [now] is very different,” he explained.

Pacio mentioned that he is very much focused on the strawweight division exclusively and on defending his title but is not opposed to fighting at flyweight if given the opportunity.

The strawweight champion is coming off a TKO victory over bitter rival Yosuke Saruta at ONE: Revolution in late September.

Johnson is set to face Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a hybrid MMA-Muay Thai fight at ONE X on December 5, while Kingad is rumored to return to action this coming November.

"The Passion" picked the American to win the unique fight setup if it gets past the first round.

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