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Newly crowned ONE strawweight MMA world champion ‘The Passion’ Joshua Pacio of the Philippines finally has 26 pounds of gold over his shoulders once again, but not in the way he wanted.
Pacio defeated former champion ‘The Monkey God’ Jarred Brooks by disqualification, after the latter dumped Pacio on his head with an illegal spike. Spiking an opponent on the head, neck, or spine is forbidden under ONE Championship’s Global MMA Rule Set.
As a result, Pacio was awarded the belt, and was quickly rushed to the hospital for important checkups, not long after.
The two locked horns at ONE 166: Qatar last March 1st, in ONE Championship’s historic return to the Middle East.
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Speaking to YouTube channel, The MMA Superfan, in a recent interview, Pacio described the harrowing turn of events leading up to the abrupt ending of his fight with Brooks.
‘The Passion’ said:
“I think I was semi-unconscious there, because my feeling was I was standing up to fight, but I saw my body was not responding. I think the one punch became like a CPR, that was where I gave in, the second punch I managed to cover myself up.”
Pacio has since returned to his home in Baguio City, Philippines, and did not suffer any major injuries. By every indication, ‘The Passion’ was lucky enough to emerge unhurt and in relatively good condition, given the circumstances.
What’s next for Joshua Pacio?
Obviously, some much-deserved rest and recuperation is up next for ‘The Passion’ Joshua Pacio. However, the competitor inside of him knows winning by disqualification is by no means anywhere near conclusive in his rivalry with Jarred Brooks.
Look for Pacio to get healthy and to immediately book a rematch with ‘The Monkey God’ sometime later this year. Needless to say, there is unfinished business between the two that needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates on Joshua Pacio’s next fight.
