Jarred Brooks believes Joshua Pacio will work ‘very diligently’ to beat him in inevitable trilogy

Jarred Brooks expects the absolute best version of Joshua Pacio when the two strawweight warriors inevitably meet for the third time.

Already considered by many to be one of the fiercest rivalries in strawweight MMA history, Pacio and 'The Monkey God' appear to be on a collision course after splitting their first two meetings inside the Circle. But before Jarred Brooks can start prepping himself for a rubber match, he'll have to get through streaking Cuban sensation Gustavo Balart.

Brooks and Balart will go toe-to-toe this Friday night, August 2 at ONE Fight Night 24 with the winner emerging as the interim ONE strawweight MMA world champion.

If he manages to smash his way through Balart, Brooks will book himself another showdown with Pacio—and 'The Monkey God' fully expects 'The Passion' to pull out all the stops when they settle things on martial arts' biggest global stage.

"We both know that we're on the tracks of running into each other again, and I think he is gonna be working very diligently and very hard to keep that belt once and for all,” Brooks told ABS-CBN.

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Jarred Brooks wants redemption after devastating DQ loss to Joshua Pacio

Jarred Brooks delivered an absolutely dominant performance against Pacio in their first meeting at ONE 164 in Manilla and walked away with the ONE strawweight MMA world title.

More than a year later, Brooks' title reign would end.

Running it back at ONE 166 in Qatar, Brooks inadvertently spiked Pacio on the top of his head during an opening-minute takedown attempt. Referee Herb Dean immediately stopped the contest and disqualified Brooks—handing the belt back to Pacio in the process.

If Brooks can climb back into the win column and claim the interim gold against Gustavo Balart inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium, he'll be guaranteed a shot a Pacio's undisputed gold and the opportunity to settle their iconic rivalry.

ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 24 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, August 2.