Pacio Defends Against Yamakita
ONE has booked Joshua Pacio vs Keito Yamakita for ONE SAMURAI 5, matching the champion's complete game with the challenger's wrestling run.
Joshua Pacio has his next title defense. ONE Championship has booked the strawweight MMA champion against Keito Yamakita for ONE SAMURAI 5. The bout is scheduled for Wednesday, November 18, at EBARA WAVE Arena Ota in Tokyo.
For ONE, this is more than a Japanese date on the calendar. Pacio carries the division's longest and most stable title story, while Yamakita brings the clearest recent case from the chasing pack. The challenger submitted Koyuru Tanoue with a first-round bulldog choke at ONE SAMURAI 2 in August, turning a strong run into a title shot.
Pacio's grip on the division
ONE lists Pacio at 24-5 in MMA with 19 finishes. The more important detail is his place in the weight class. The Filipino has won the promotion's strawweight MMA title three times and rebuilt his position as the undisputed champion after the Jarred Brooks series. In July, he defended against Mansur Malachiev by first-round submission.
That is what makes this matchup useful. Pacio is not only a striker. His wushu base explains his pace, distance management and angles, but his recent title moments also show that he is not simply surviving on the ground. Against Yamakita, that completeness becomes the test.
Yamakita's direct route
Yamakita is not sliding into a title fight on market value. ONE lists him at 13-1 overall, 6-1 in the promotion and riding five straight wins. During that run he beat former ONE champions Alex Silva and Yosuke Saruta before stopping Tanoue in August.
His shape is clear: wrestling, pressure, positional control and then submission windows. Against Tanoue, he attacked the legs early, moved through mount and back control, and finished with a rare bulldog choke. Against Pacio, the first entry will not be enough on its own. The champion is dangerous whenever a challenger fails to secure control after the takedown or leaves space during transitions.
Why it matters
The sporting question is whether Yamakita's wrestling can force Pacio into enough defensive minutes. If it can, the title fight gets a clear control pattern. If Pacio repeatedly escapes the clinch and scrambles, he can turn the fight through pace, angles and his own submission threats.
That gives ONE SAMURAI 5 immediate title weight. After many SAMURAI bookings leaned toward kickboxing, this puts an MMA belt at the center of the Tokyo series. Pacio is defending his exceptional place in the division. Yamakita is trying to turn a home-stage winning streak into a championship.
