Alex “Little Rock” Silva fell narrowly short in his attempt to become a two-time ONE Strawweight World Champion at ONE: FIRE & FURY in Manila, Philippines.

This past Friday, 31 January, the Brazilian athlete challenged Joshua “The Passion” Pacio in the main event of the evening, but the defending ONE Strawweight World Champion retained his belt after a razor-thin split decision win.

Silva – a Copa De Mundo BJJ World Champion – engaged in several tense grappling encounters with Pacio on the canvas, but could not find a way to submit his rival.

The Evolve representative’s normally formidable grappling finally met its match against the Filipino’s surprisingly stout ground defense.

Though “Little Rock” was able to control Pacio for brief moments during the contest, “The Passion” showed composure to slip out and get back to his feet on several of those occasions.

It appeared as if the thrilling back-and-forth action on the ground had no end in sight, as both athletes jostled for position for all five rounds.

Ultimately, it was the local favorite who walked away with his hand raised by the thinnest of margins.

At the post-match press conference, Silva expressed his admiration and respect for Pacio’s achievements.

“He’s one of the toughest guys I have ever fought against. This is the third time in my career that I’ve went the full five rounds. He’s a tough kid and he deserves to be at the top of the division,” Silva said.

Given the complexity of the match, “Little Rock” understood the result could have gone either way.

However, he felt like his output on the ground and defense on the feet ought to have been enough to earn the judges’ nod.

“It’s hard to take decisions. When I left the Circle, there were many people who told me that I had the fight, and I feel the same way,” the 37-year-old said.

“I handled his strikes, I was able to take him down, control him, and I even managed to put my hands on him a couple of times.”

Despite the loss, fans will be happy to know Silva remains focused on his goal to reclaim the World Title. He has even said he would return to action as soon as possible.

“Right now, I need to go back and watch the match,” he added. “It’s hard, but this is just a temporary setback, I will be back.”

ONE Championship travels to Jakarta, Indonesia next for ONE: WARRIOR’S CODE this Friday, 7 February, at the Istora Senayan.

The lead card begins on meWatch at 6:30pm Singapore Standard Time (SGT).

To watch the main card, tune-in to meWatch at 9:30pm SGT.

Also, Channel 5 will cut-in live to the main card at 10:00pm SGT.

Download the ONE Super App to catch all the action live and for free.

Read More From ONE Championship:

Top 5 Highlights From ONE: FIRE & FURY

5 Lessons We Learned At ONE: FIRE & FURY

Brandon Vera’s Next ONE Heavyweight World Title Defense Confirmed