“Prove I am the real champion” - Jarred Brooks wants to leave no doubts at ONE 166 rematch with old rival Joshua Pacio in Qatar

Jarred Brooks plans to solidify himself as the best male strawweight MMA fighter on the planet with an impressive performance in his upcoming rematch against Joshua Pacio.

In December 2022, Brooks capitalized on his three-fight win streak by challenging Pacio for the latter’s ONE strawweight MMA world title. ‘The Monkey God’ utilized his superior grappling skills and dominated his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Over a year later, the world-class strawweights will meet again, this time at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 at Lusail Sports Arena. Although he’s already defeated Pacio once, Brooks believes he has a statement to make in his second fight against the division’s GOAT.

Brooks recently took to Instagram and had this to say about his upcoming rematch:

“So excited about this fight I want to prove that I am the real world champion and show I will be at the top for a long time @joshuapacio thank you for taking this match. And @onechampionship for hosting. FIRST TIME FIGHTING IN THE MIDDLE EAST, COMMENT TmG if your riding with me!! Btw I’m pretty good at making these Ayy?”

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Jarred Brooks eyes second world title in a different sport under the ONE Championship banner

Jarred Brooks hasn’t fought in an MMA bout since defeating Joshua Pacio. With that said, Brooks tested himself in submission grappling during an August 2023 match against ONE flyweight world champion Mikey Musumeci, with the latter emerging victorious by triangle armbar.

Brooks doesn’t plan on stopping at submission grappling. During an interview with FightWave, ‘The Monkey God’ had this to say about wanting to pursue ONE Muay Thai gold:

“I really just want to go to mountain peaks that I feel like I can't do because I surprise myself every time. And if I win a Muay Thai world championship in the ONE Championship strawweight division, it’s over.”

Before worrying about what’s next, Jarred Brooks has business to take care of at ONE 166: Qatar. Following his loss against Brooks, Joshua Pacio earned a title shot by securing a unanimous decision win against Mansur Malachiev in October 2023.