“It's a beautiful country” - Jarred Brooks thrilled to headline ONE Championship’s return to Qatar

ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks is thrilled to be competing again in Qatar in his scheduled return to action next week. He vows to put on a good performance and show to the world that he is one of the best in the game right now.

'The Monkey God' will try to unify the strawweight championship belts when he takes on reigning divisional king Joshua Pacio in the co-headlining bout at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20, happening at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail.

It will be in the same venue where he lost the strawweight strap after being disqualified for executing an illegal slam in the opening round of his title rematch with Pacio, that saw the latter hit his head first on the canvas. The DQ loss forced him to surrender the belt to 'The Passion,' from whom he seized the belt by decision in their first encounter in December 2022.

Speaking to The MMA Superfan, Brooks shared his thoughts on his scheduled trilogy match with Pacio, including coming back to Qatar to compete.

He said:

"I love Qatar. It's a beautiful country. The people are amazing. The working class is amazing. I'm super excited to perform in front of millions of people and show that I am the best in the world, and I'm going to prove it."

Watch the interview below:

After losing the strawweight belt in March last year, Jarred Brooks bounced back five months later to claim the interim world title with a first-round submission of Gustavo Balart of Cuba.

ONE Championship had to hold a match for the interim belt as Pacio had to undergo surgery on his knee, which he injured even before he took on Brooks in their rematch.

For more information on ONE 171: Qatar, check out onefc.com.

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Jarred Brooks expects new challenges in trilogy fight against Joshua Pacio

While he has fought Joshua Pacio twice already in the past, Jarred Brooks is expecting new challenges when they collide for the third time at ONE 171: Qatar.

He talked about it in the same interview with The MMA Superfan, highlighting he is expecting the unexpected against familiar foe Pacio.

'The Monkey God' said:

"Every day is a brand-new equation to solve. That's what I'm looking forward to. I'm looking to solve the equation of Joshua Pacio inside of a country like Qatar."

Jarred Brooks enters ONE 171: Qatar off his flyweight debut back in December. Unfortunately, he lost to Reece McLaren by split decision. Pacio, meanwhile, is making his first fight back after injuring his knee last year.