After 16 months on the sidelines, Jeremy Pacatiu has finally made his long-awaited return to ONE Championship.
This will happen on Prime Video's ONE Fight Night 21, where he will face off against Wang Shaw in a bantamweight MMA showdown. The event will be broadcast live in prime time in the United States from the iconic Lumphini Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 5th.
His last appearance on the world stage was back in December 2022. There, he scored a monumental victory by awarding Tial Tan a $50,000 performance bonus.
Since then, the Philippine dynamo has been out of the spotlight. However, that doesn't tell the whole story.
“The Juggernaut” did not go dormant during his hiatus from MMA competition. In fact, he also accepted other avenues to expand his horizons in the field of martial arts.
“I'm really happy. It's been quite a while since I last fought. [in MMA]So I'm really looking forward to getting back in the ring. This is a great chance for me to showcase my talent,” he said in an interview with The MMA Superfan.
It would be no exaggeration to say that the whole thing was quite eventful. The 27-year-old represented the Philippine kickboxing team at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, where he won a silver medal.
Meanwhile, he took advantage of the opportunity to deepen his understanding of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the foundation of mixed martial arts grappling.
In fact, Pakatiu also earned a blue belt from Professor Gibran Langbayan. She then won two gold medals at the 2023 ASJJF Manila Open Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
“The important thing is to expand your knowledge,” he said. “What we are improving and working on are the details that we usually overlook.”
“When one door closes, another opens. We just made the best of the situation while we waited. [my next MMA] Fight. “
For Pacatiu, the appeal of an MMA fight remains unparalleled. However, his ventures into other fields fostered personal growth.
“Obviously, there's a slight disadvantage. I haven't played a match in a while, so there's that. But I've always been a hard worker,” he said.
“I've always tried to develop what needs to be developed, even if I'm on the sidelines.”
