Pacio-Saruta 3 set at ONE: Revolution

Joshua Pacio and Yosuke Saruta will face off for the third time. ONE Championship (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Joshua Pacio and Yosuke Saruta are set to face off for a third time as both fighters will be part of a triple main event to headline ONE: Revolution on Sept. 24 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

ONE Championship chief executive officer Chatri Sityodtong announced on Tuesday night that Pacio will stake his ONE strawweight title against Saruta in their trilogy match which might ultimately decide who is better of the two.

Both Pacio and Saruta split their first two meetings in 2019 with the said title belt on the line.

Saruta shocked the ONE Championship community on Jan. 20 of the said year in Jakarta when he took the strawweight title from Pacio with a then-controversial split decision win.

[Related Story: Saruta becomes 1st ONE champion for 2019, dethrones Pacio]

Three months later, however, Pacio made sure the judges will not have a say in their rematch in Pasay after knocking Saruta out in the fourth round.

[Related Story: CHAMP AGAIN | Pacio retakes ONE strawweight belt with KO of Saruta]

Pacio has since successfully defended the ONE strawweight championship twice against fellow Filipino Rene Catalan and Brazilian foe Alex Silva.

Pacio will be returning to the ONE Championship circle after a 19-month hiatus mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saruta, on the other hand, got to fight amid the pandemic, beating Yoshitaka Naito on Sept. 10, 2020, in Tokyo.

Two other championship bouts have been set for ONE: Revolution.

Right after the Pacio-Saruta 3, Asanan "Capitan Petchyindee Academy" Praanekpanansri of Thailand defends his ONE kickboxing bantamweight title against Mehdi Zatout of Algeria.

In the nightcap, Singapore's Christian Lee stakes his ONE lightweight title against Ok Rae-Yoon of South Korea.

After another announcement on Wednesday, Sityodtong said two other Filipinos will be on the card.

Roel Rosauro will take on James Yang of the United States, while Lito Adiwang battles Hexigetu of China.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno