MANILA -- Joshua Pacio will defend his One strawweight title belt against a Japanese opponent at One: Eternal Glory on Jan. 19 in Jakarta.
However, it's not Yoshitaka Naito anymore.
The supposed blockbuster rematch between Pacio and Naito has been called off, and instead, Pacio will stake his championship against Yosuke Saruta.
Saruta got the call-up for a title shot after Naito suffered an injury during training.
While Saruta is relatively new to the promotion--he will only play his second match in One Championship--he is actually a martial arts veteran.
In fact, he shocked the One community right in his debut earlier this month when he defeated former strawweight champ Alex Silva at One: Destiny of Champions, quickly putting him into the world title picture.
Meanwhile, Edward Kelly and Robin Catalan will join Pacio as the Philippine representatives for One: Eternal Glory.
Kelly will take on Christian Lee, while Catalan will face Stefer Rahardian. (PNA)
