“It gives me some traction” – Jarred Brooks says going 2-0 against Joshua Pacio will elevate his name

American champion Jarred Brooks said defeating Joshua Pacio in their scheduled rematch this week is significant since it would enhance his standing in the game, not only in the present but also moving forward.

Brooks has been impressive in his MMA journey under ONE Championship. He made his promotional debut in November 2021, winning all of his four MMA fights to date. His lone defeat came in submission grappling when he lost to flyweight champion Mikey Musumeci back in August.

‘The Monkey God’ will defend his world title for the first time at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 against ‘The Passion,’ from whom he took the championship belt in December 2022 in Manila by unanimous decision. In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Jarred Brooks, 31, shared his thoughts on his upcoming re-engagement with Pacio, 28, including how it would affect his career, especially with a win:

“You know, by beating Joshua Pacio for a second time, it gives me some traction in Asia and stuff like that. But at the same time, I'm willing and ready to fight anywhere and anybody that they want to keep on giving me because I'm 30 years old, I got about six to seven years left in this fight game.”

Watch the interview below:

ONE 166 is the first live on-ground event of ONE Championship in Qatar. It will take place at the Lusail Sports Arena and is available to Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America live and for free on Friday, March 1.

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Jarred Brooks hits Joshua Pacio’s diet plan ahead of rematch

One strawweight MMA world champion, Jarred Brooks, is monitoring the preparations of Filipino rival Joshua Pacio ahead of their scheduled rematch this week. That includes the diet plan ‘The Passion’ is employing, which he is not impressed with.

The American champion defends his championship belt for the first time at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 against Pacio, whom he dethroned in their first title showdown in December 2022. Heading into their rematch, Pacio said that in his training camp, he made sure that everything was in accordance with what he wanted to achieve come fight night, including keeping his diet in check.

In the same interview with The MMA Superfan, Jarred Brooks was asked for his thoughts on the diet plan the Lions Nation MMA standout has been having. He said it could actually backfire on his rival, saying:

“He’s eating half of an egg and some broccoli. That isn’t giving you the nutrition that you need in order to get to a fight, bro. You need carbs. You need the things that are going to fuel your body at the end of the day. When he puts those complex carbs in after the fight instead of before the fight, he’s not going to feel the same energy systems.”

Jarred Brooks-Joshua Pacio II is one of three title fights on hand at ONE 166: Qatar. The others are the headlining all-champion clash between ONE middleweight MMA king Reinier de Ridder and challenger Anatoly Malykhin, as well as the featherweight MMA unification title bout between reigning champion Tang Kai and interim title holder Thanh Le.