Jarred Brooks says he’s "10 times better" than Joshua Pacio: "I want to knock him off"

ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks is prepared to show the world why he’s the best 125-pounder in the world today.

‘The Monkey God’ steps on the grandest platform of martial arts in search of his fifth successive MMA win inside the circle, one that will guarantee him a first world title defense against the very man he tussled the gold from about a year and a half ago.

For years, Joshua Pacio reigned over the strawweight division, enjoying multiple stints as a divisional king while besting the who’s who of the weight class.

But the Filipino warrior’s time at the top was threatened from the very day the Mash Fight Team affiliate debuted with a submission win over his then-Team Lakay teammate Lito Adiwang at ONE: NextGen III in November 2021.

A couple more victories over Hiroba Minowa and Bokang Masunyane earned Brooks a ticket to contest for Pacio’s gold at ONE 164 in December 2022. Suffice to say, he aced the assignment with a solid display across 25 minutes.

Despite his world title win, many still view ‘The Passion’ as the division’s true king.

Jarred Brooks doesn’t agree with that point of view one bit, and he’s ready to put that to bed when he runs it back with the top-ranked contender at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1:

“I want to knock him off of that sentiment that he’s the best and I want to prove that I'm ten times better than Joshua Pacio,” he told The MMA Superfan.

Watch Jarred Brooks' full interview here:

---

Pacio out for revenge against Jarred Brooks in Qatar

‘The Monkey God’ has talked the talk and walked the talk since lacing on the 4-ounce gloves under the ONE banner. And if the past is anything to go by, the Indiana native is in safe hands to take his rivalry against Pacio to 2-0.

However, ‘The Passion’ has undergone several changes in all areas of his game, and he’s fired up to use his rematch against Jarred Brooks to showcase his developments.

Since departing Team Lakay in March 2023, the five-time divisional king has played a pivotal role in helping former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Eduard Folayang establish Lions Nation MMA in Baguio City, Philippines.

The 28-year-old even took a trip to the United States alongside ‘Landslide’ to train under the tutelage of Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn at the world-renowned Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque before setting up his home base.

Thus far, that decision has proved to be a wise one as he returned to winning ways in his last outing against Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 15.

Now, Pacio looks to maintain that form when he squares off against Jarred Brooks once more on March 1.

ONE 166: Qatar will be available for free to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.