“I’ll heal up and I’ll see you soon” - Joshua Pacio applauds Jarred Brooks ahead of inevitable world title trilogy

Joshua Pacio is as excited as Jarred Brooks for their inevitable world title unification match.

The reigning ONE strawweight MMA world champion watched from home as Brooks claimed the division's interim world title at the expense of Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24 this past weekend.

Brooks had one of the best wins of his career when he submitted Balart in his fourth rear-naked choke attempt in the opening round of their match at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

Pacio, who's recovering from an ACL injury, took to Instagram to congratulate his old rival and tell Brooks to get ready once he's medically cleared to compete.

"Congratulations @the_monkeygod for that 1st round submission. 🐵 And for your Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt 🥋. Happy for you man ☝️ 15 years of jiu-jitsu grinding paid off. I'll heal up and I'll see you soon! 🦁," wrote Joshua Pacio on Instagram.

Pacio and Brooks share one of the most intense rivalries in ONE Championship and are tied 1-1 in their head-to-head series against each other.

Brooks took the first win in the rivalry when he snatched the ONE strawweight MMA world title from Pacio via unanimous decision in the main event of ONE 164 in Manila.

Pacio, though, reclaimed the gold at ONE 166 this past March in Qatar in an anticlimactic fashion.

Brooks accidentally spiked Pacio's head to the canvas during their match, a move deemed illegal under ONE Championship rules.

Referee Herb Dean ultimately ruled a disqualification on the match and Pacio was awarded the ONE strawweight MMA world title.

Brooks, however, has a chance at the undisputed gold when he faces Joshua Pacio in an inevitable world title unification match.

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Jarred Brooks talks about the emotional toll he had after his disqualification loss to Joshua Pacio

Jarred Brooks had arguably the most stressful weekend of his professional career at ONE 166.

After an amazing build to his world title match against Joshua Pacio at Lusail Sports Arena, the hype went asunder when he spiked his rival's head and merited a disqualification loss.

In an interview with ONE Championship before ONE Fight Night 24, Brooks recalled the moment he was disqualified and had to relinquish the strawweight MMA throne to his rival.

"That was an emotional roller coaster, man. It was me thinking I had just won another $50,000 bonus, and I'm climbing on top of the fence, I'm screaming at the crowd, the crowd was screaming back at me and they're not supposed to, and it's just dope. We had a cool experience in that 4 seconds before Herb Dean called me back down."