“I'm more confident this time” - Joshua Pacio relying on his skills to take the win in trilogy against Jarred Brooks

In less than 24 hours, ONE strawweight MMA world champion 'The Passion' Joshua Pacio will be walking into ONE 171: Qatar on Thursday armed with a new mindset. After two high-stakes encounters with 'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks, the Filipino world champ believes this is the fight that will set the record straight.

"We didn't see much in the last fight. There's a little bit of adjustment," Pacio admitted in the card's pre-event press conference. "But you know, I'm more confident this time, confident but I'm not boasting, but confident in my skills, and why do you think I'm here if I don't think I'm gonna win, right? So that's the mindset that I'm in and I'm gonna win this Thursday."

The strawweight MMA king's first clash with Brooks ended with a unanimous decision loss, where he felt he became stagnant by focusing too much on defense. The rematch also failed to satisfy both the contenders and the fans - a chaotic win in favor of Pacio after a disqualification for an illegal body slam.

Now, with the score still unsettled, ONE 171: Qatar on Thursday at Lusail Sports Arena will be their chance to settle the score once and for all.

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"Improve more than my opponent" Strawweight MMA king Joshua Pacio shares the secret behind his successes in trilogies

Talking about what went wrong in the past is redundant. Rather than focus on the past, Joshua Pacio keeps his eyes forward, focusing instead on what he can do better.

"It shows how well I adjust and improve as an athlete," he said, "I don't allow myself to get stagnant. I have to get better with each fight."

This growth mindset has defined Pacio's career. With positive outcomes in past rematches with Yoshitaka Naito and Yosuke Saruta, he's applying the same formula against Brooks.

"Entering my second fight, I have to be better than my first. In the third, I have to be better than the first two. My mentality during trilogies is to improve more than my opponent in that stretch."

With the experience of past rivalries, Joshua Pacio is walking into his title defense with a renewed sense of confidence.

Joshua Pacio vs Jarred Brooks is set to headline the ONE 171: Qatar card at 10 AM ET. Catch the action on watch.onefc.com.