ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks never fails to convey his confidence. And when it comes to his World Title rematch with former king Joshua Pacio at ONE 166: Qatar, “The Monkey God” has made it clear he expects nothing short of complete dominance.
Brooks meets Pacio in one of three World Title showdowns this Friday, 1st March, inside Qatar’s Lusail Sports Arena, and he’s ready to cement his reign atop the stacked division.
In terms of second meetings, Pacio's record suggests he will come back stronger after losing the coveted crown in their first meeting in December 2022. Brooks acknowledges that fact but says he plans to put “The Passion’s” dreams of redemption to bed.
“I'm not looking past Joshua. I know that he's hunting back, and he has always done well on his rematches, but I have that in my head as well. Like, I'm not dumb. I already know what this guy is going to be coming with,” he admitted.
“He's going to try to work on his weight cut. He's going to try to work on his angles. He's going to be more aggressive, but I'm ready for that. I've been training for that the whole time.”
When they clashed At ONE 164, Brooks’ phenomenal wrestling abilities were a notch above Pacio’s, allowing him to nullify the Filipino’s striking and score a unanimous decision victory.
The former World Champion has since parted ways with his old squadron at Team Lakay to found Lion’s Nation MMA. He has been working hard on his ground game in his new home, as was evident when he overcame previously unbeaten grappling star Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 15 last October.
“The Monkey God” is aware of Pacio’s improvements, but he feels his own skills have developed tenfold since they last met. Whatever his old foe may try on Friday, the outspoken American is dead certain he’ll have an answer for it.
“I see that he's trying to be more explosive on the entries. I'm always changing angles and moving, so I know he's going to be trying to hit like threes with me. So, it's a different stylistic opponent when you're going against somebody for the second time,” Brooks said.
“So, I think that Josh is going to be trying to hit three-punch combinations, and I think that's going to go against everything that he was working on in that last fight. So, I think he's necessarily screwed either way."
