“I am one of the best in the world, I should fight like it” – Joshua Pacio out to prove his place among the elite

Former ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio believes he is still fighting at an elite level and wants to prove that further when he returns to action next month.

‘The Passion’ will try to seize back the world title he lost in his rematch against reigning divisional king Jarred Brooks of the United States at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

It is one of the featured title clashes in the marquee event happening at the Lusail Sports Arena and airing live free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Joshua Pacio first took on ‘The Monkey God’ in December 2022 in Manila but was edged out by unanimous decision to lose the strawweight MMA gold.

The Filipino fighter said the defeat is on his mind as he prepares for the rematch to come up with a winning performance.

The Lions Nation MMA standout shared to ONE Championship in an interview:

“This is mixed martial arts. It’s either you will get hit or you will get taken down. This camp has taught me to have the proper mindset. If I am one of the best in the world, I should fight like it.”

Entering ONE 166, Pacio is coming off a bounce-back win in October over Russian wrestler Mansur Malachiev by unanimous decision.

Brooks, meanwhile, attempted to add the ONE flyweight submission grappling world title back in August but was foiled when he bowed by submission to reigning champion Mikey Musumeci.

ONE 166 is the first live on-ground event of ONE Championship in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar.

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Joshua Pacio on track in preparation for Jarred Brooks rematch

Filipino strawweight fighter Joshua Pacio is on track of his preparation for his scheduled rematch with American rival Jarred Brooks at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

The Baguio City native will try to exact payback on Brooks as they run it over in the landmark event in Qatar and seize back the ONE strawweight MMA world title he lost to ‘The Monkey God’ in December 2022 in front of Filipino fans in Manila.

In an interview with GMA News Online a couple of weeks back, Pacio said he and his team are doing well in training and confident that by fight night he is already battle-ready.

The 28-year-old fighter said:

"Next week will be my last week of hard training. I am 93 percent ready and after next week I shall be a hundred percent ready to go.”

Before losing the strawweight MMA gold to Brooks, Joshua Pacio successfully defended the world title he won back in 2019 three times.