“I forget everything, and I come back” - Jarred Brooks confident he exorcised his past demons in Qatar ahead of ONE 171

The last time Jarred Brooks fought in Qatar marked one of the most disappointing moments of his career.

Brooks, then the reigning ONE strawweight MMA world champion, lost his gold to Joshua Pacio when he inadvertently slammed his archrival's head to the canvas losing via disqualification in their ONE 166 showdown.

Nearly a year after that defeat, Brooks returns to Qatar when he takes on Pacio for a world title unification match for the undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world title in the main event of ONE 171: Qatar.

Brooks' fated trilogy match against Brooks goes down at Lusail Sports Arena on February 20.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, the ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion said he's confident he's exorcised the demons that haunted his psyche when he last faced Pacio in Qatar.

Jarred Brooks said:

"Yeah, bro, I'm a goldfish. I forget everything, and I come back, and I bounce back like silly putty, you know."

Brooks initially thought he had retained the gold when he slammed Pacio down to the canvas and was pushed off by referee Herb Dean.

In the middle of his celebration, Brooks received word that he accidentally spiked Pacio's head to the ground and was deemed disqualified since the move is illegal under the Global MMA Rule Set.

Pacio ultimately regained the ONE strawweight MMA world title but was eventually forced to the sidelines after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament a few months after his victory over Brooks.

The American star, meanwhile, captured the ONE interim strawweight MMA world title when he submitted Cuban Olympic wrestler Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24 in August 2024.

Tickets for ONE 171 are available at Q-Tickets.

Watch Brooks' entire interview below:

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Jarred Brooks getting closer to his peak form ahead of world title trilogy against Joshua Pacio

Jarred Brooks is set to pull out all the stops when he targets his return to the top of the strawweight MMA division.

Taking to Instagram, Brooks showed the progress in his training camp and how he's getting closer to his peak form ahead of his world title unification bout against Pacio at ONE 171.

"Coming for what is mine! I will dig and dig to get to the gold. Nothing stopping me but me," wrote Brooks.