ONE CEO says Pacio should have won in close Jakarta fight

MANILA, Philippines – Last week, Joshua Pacio lost his ONE Strawweight Championship belt to Yosuke Saruta in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

But for ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong, Pacio should have kept his title.

Speaking in front of the media at the ONE Championship: Hero's Ascent press conference at City of Dreams Manila, Sityodtong bared his opinion on the extremely close fight.

"I'm obviously not a judge but my personal opinion as a life-long martial artist, I thought Joshua Pacio won. I was very disappointed." He said.

The executive said that he thought the Filipino won most of the exchanges during the fight and landed harder shots than his opponent but was quick to dismiss any blame on the fight's officials.

"The judges and the referees are the best in the world. They hardly make an error... it was a very close fight," he said.

Aware of the uncertainty of Saruta's victory and Pacio's fire to get back into the ring with the newly crowned Strawweight Champion, the ONE CEO didn't waste time.

"Yes, there will be a rematch," he promised.