Pacio submits Lan in ONE Championship; Kelly falls to Nunes

Pacio quickly stepped on the gas and sent Lan down the canvas at the start of Round 1. (Photo: Joshua Pacio/Facebook)

MANILA — Joshua Pacio returned to his winning track on Friday night after dominating Lan Ming Qiang in the co-main event of One: Global Superheroes at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Pacio quickly stepped on the gas and sent Lan down the canvas at the start of Round 1.

He then found an opening to perform a rear naked choke, in which he successfully executed, forcing Lan to tap out at the four-minute mark of the very first round.

Pacio lost his last two fights prior to the victory, and this win essentially put him back at the One strawweight title picture.

Meanwhile, Eric Kelly failed to duplicate his younger brother’s win after bowing to Rafael Nunes.

Nunes’ efficiency in the ground game proved to be vital as he forced Kelly to tap out early into the second round.

The first round started slowly as both fighters sized up each other, although Kelly landed crisp strikes on Nunes in the early stages.

Nunes finally got a chance to turn the tides as he forced a takedown on Kelly late into the round.

Kelly looked to regain momentum at the start of the second round, but Nunes caught his legs while going for a kick and sent him down, eventually leading to a submission win via a D’Arce choke.

In a special attraction prior to the said contest, Sam-A Gaiyanghadao shocked reigning WBC Muay Thai super bantamweight champion Joseph Lasiri via a second round knockout in a non-title fight. (PNA)