Pacatiw tries to buck cage rust in ONE Championship return

MANILA, Philippines -- More than a year since his last ONE Championship bout, Jeremy Pacatiw acknowledged that he has a lot to work on before his comeback fight.

“The Juggernaut” will be facing “Little Whirlwind” Wang Shuo next month at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Filipino mixed martial artist last fought on December 3, 2022 during ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks, winning via submission against Tial Thang.

This, he said, will be a “slight disadvantage.”

Despite this, Pacatiw bared that he has been working non-stop on his skills.

“Sure there’s a slight disadvantage. I haven’t competed for quite some time so there’s that,” he said.

“But I have always been diligent, I’ve always looked to develop what needs to be developed despite being on the sidelines,” the 27-year-old added.

He bared that he has been working on his kickboxing and jiu-jitsu skills.

Last year, he won a silver medal in the Southeast Asian Games’ kickboxing competition.

“It’s all about expanding your knowledge in these sports, particularly in jiu jitsu. It’s the little details, details that we usually miss out normally, that we improve and work on.”

The Pacatiw-Wang fight will take place in ONE Fight Night 21.

The card will have an exciting bout between Regian Eersel and Alexis Nicolas as the main event.

The Eersel-Nicolas clash will be for the lightweight kickboxing world championship.

With the upcoming fight being his first under the Lions Nation MMA banner, Pacatiw said the team will be “looking to prove”' their worth.

“There’s pressure for sure, being in a new team people will always look at us and have these expectations. So what we’re doing now is we just continue to refine what we have and improve on where we can,” he said.

“This has been a collaborative effort in this team. Everyone’s open to suggestions. I believe we have that chemistry in this team, that’s what makes this work. They've always been supportive in my training."