“It made the victory sweeter” - Joshua Pacio admits setbacks against Jarred Brooks made his redemption win more satisfying

ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio admitted that his matches with rival Jarred Brooks were among the toughest, if not the toughest, in his career. That was why he viewed his victory over 'The Monkey God' last week in Qatar with special significance.

'The Passion,' the reigning strawweight king, scored an impressive second-round TKO victory over erstwhile interim titleholder Brooks in their unification bout at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20 at the Lusail Sports Arena.

The win made the Filipino fighter the undisputed top dog in the 125-pound division just as he took the lead in his head-to-head matchup with the American in ONE Championship at 2-1.

Speaking to The MMA Superfan following his victory, Joshua Pacio shared the significance of his latest win over Brooks. highlighting the challenges he had to go through in the lead-up.

The 29-year-old Lions Nation MMA standout said:

"I think for me, it made the victory sweeter. Like I said, God orchestrated it. I think it was good that we lost that first fight. The second one hurt as well. But with God’s protection and favor, I was safe. All these lessons - the injuries and the journey getting here - it made this victory that much sweeter."

Joshua Pacio lost to Brooks in their first encounter in December 2022 in Manila, losing by decision while being dethroned as the strawweight world champion.

In their rematch in March last year also in Qatar, he reclaimed the belt after Brooks was disqualified for executing an illegal slam that had Pacio hitting his head first on the canvas. While grateful to have returned as champion, it was bittersweet for him as he won by technicality.

Then he had to undergo surgery for his knee, which he injured even before he took on Brooks in their rematch. The recovery kept him out for the rest of last year.

The full replay of ONE 171: Qatar is available via watch.onefc.com.

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Joshua Pacio happy to have silenced doubters with win at ONE 171

Making the win at ONE 171: Qatar further special for Joshua Pacio was that he was able to silence his doubters, who asserted he was not capable of getting the job done against Jarred Brooks.

Pacio opened up about it at the post-event press conference, citing the relief he felt of pulling off the huge victory. He said:

“It’s just a release for me because there are a lot of people talking behind me, doubting me, [saying], 'You can't do it, you can't do it.' You know, at the end of the day, I'm just very focused on winning and training. I've been through a lot because of the injuries like that, but, you know, it's just a relief. There's so much joy and happiness. That's it."

At ONE 171, Pacio had to dig deep after encountering early trouble in the contest. He made major inroads in the second round with his striking, which culminated in a ferocious ground and pound for the TKO win.