“I’m not affected by it” - Joshua Pacio says he’s gotten over Jarred Brooks’ illegal head spike and chose forgiveness

ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio was on the raw end of an illegal head spike in his last match against American Jarred Brooks. However, he said that he has moved past it and has forgiven 'The Monkey God' for what he did.

'The Passion' earned back the strawweight gold from Brooks after the latter was disqualified in their title rematch at ONE 166: Qatar back in March for executing an illegal slam that saw the Filipino fighter hit the canvas head first.

It took place early in the opening round of their marquee rematch. After Brooks got hold of Pacio from the back, he moved to execute a slam. Unfortunately for him, he had his opponent in an awkward position to hit his head first on the mat, which is a move illegal in ONE Championship and automatically earned him a disqualification to cost him the belt.

Speaking to The MMA Superfan, Joshua Pacio shared the harrowing experience he had last time around against Brooks and how he has moved on from it, saying:

"For me, I'm not affected by it mentally, nor am I traumatized by it. I think, like I said before, the last time was just really God's protection and at the same time God's favor. And if it's in God's plan for it to happen again in Qatar, then God-willing, that's where we will claim redemption."

Check out what he had to say below:

Following the unfortunate incident, both Pacio and Brooks had the opportunity to clear the air over what happened before they left Qatar.

The reigning strawweight world champion, however, had to go undergo surgery after, not for the illegal slam where he only suffered a sprained neck but for a knee injury he suffered even before he took on Brooks in their rematch.

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Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks settle unfinished business at ONE 171

Strawweight top dogs Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks settle their unfinished business when they engage in a trilogy title fight and unfication bout at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20, 2025.

'The Passion' will try to retain the strawweight gold he reclaimed over the 'Monkey God' in their last match back in March also in Qatar, where he won after Brooks was disqualified for executing an illegal head spike.

The American champion enters ONE 171 as the interim strawweight world champion after securing the belt back in August with a submission win over Cuban Gustavo Balart.

ONE 171 will mark the return of Joshua Pacio after undergoing surgery for an injury to his knee he suffered even before his rematch with Brooks.

Pacio-Brooks III is one of two confirmed world title fights so far for ONE 171, which will take place at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail and air live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.