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ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio believes his impending rubber match against Jarred Brooks won't be the last time they bump into each other on the global stage.
Next Thursday, when ONE Championship returns to Qatar for its second outing inside the Lusail Sports Arena for ONE 171, the strawweight megastars unify their gold slightly less than a year since their rematch inside the same venue came to a premature end.
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In an interview with ONE Championship, Joshua Pacio was asked about the likeliness of his feud with 'The Monkey God' eclipsing the one that former ONE bantamweight MMA world champions Kevin Belingon and Bibiano Fernandes share in the Circle.
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The 29-year-old offered in response:
"I'm still young. He's still young. We have a lot of years in between us. If Brooks indeed is my greatest rival, then I don't think this story will end with a trilogy cause we got plenty left in our tank."
Joshua Pacio's win by way of disqualification due to an unintentional spike by the American at ONE 166: Qatar last year brought them level at one apiece.
In their first meeting, Brooks got the better of the Filipino warrior with a solid five-round showing in the main event of ONE 164 inside the Mall of Asia Arena in December 2022.
Meanwhile, Belingon and Fernandes tango for the fifth time in a bantamweight MMA duel at ONE 171: Qatar. The Brazilian leads the series with three wins to one in a feud that dates back to 2016.
Lito Adiwang backs Joshua Pacio to go one up over Jarred Brooks in Qatar
Former fifth-ranked strawweight MMA contender Lito Adiwang expects his ex-stablemate to come out on top in this hotly anticipated trilogy at ONE 171: Qatar.
Speaking to Bangkok Post's Nick Atkin a couple of weeks back, 'Thunder Kid' shared:
"Of course, I'd go for my kababayan, supporting Joshua [Pacio] for this. For me, I wish him all the best, and I hope they'll bring their A-Game. And yeah, after the fight, no injuries."
ONE 171: Qatar, which emanates live from the Lusail Sports Arena on Thursday, Feb. 20, will be available live and for free via watch.onefc.com.
