“Filipino people think that I was backing out of that” - Jarred Brooks dispels rumors about his world title fight

Jarred Brooks will get his first ONE world title opportunity when he meets reigning strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio in the main event of ONE 164.

The two standout strawweight stars will square off on Pacio’s home turf when ONE Championship returns to the Philippines on December 3. The two warriors were originally scheduled to meet on June 3 in the main event of ONE 158, but the fight was postponed without details being provided.

Reports in the Philippines placed the blame on Brooks, but ‘The Monkey God’ certainly didn’t sound like a fighter that withdrew when he took to Instagram following the cancelation.

“Can’t hide that belt from me Joshua Pacio! Your media obligations must mean more to you then defending your belt! I’m ready to go to Baguio city and take it myself! Done waiting.”

Check out the Instagram post below:

In an interview with MMA Sucka, Jarred Brooks spoke about the cancelation and the confusion surrounding the situation:

“Yes for sure, I don’t even know what happened on that June 3 bout. They said it was like some stipulations with ONE or the Philippines. I think they were filming that time for the ONE Championship Philippines [ONE Warrior Series]."

Brooks continued, saying:

“I don’t know, that was nothing on my end, a lot of Filipino people think that I was backing out of that. That is not the case, I was ready to get that June 3 title and go and move on and see if he would’ve probably tried to get it back.”

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Jarred Brooks expects all-out war with Joshua Pacio at ONE 164

Jarred Brooks vs. Joshua Pacio is a fight that has been years in the making. Fans are now less than a month away from seeing the epic world title clash at ONE 164 in December.

With tension building, particularly over the last few months, ‘The Monkey God’ anticipates an all-out war with ‘The Passion’ in Manila:

"I’m super excited for this bout and it’s years in the making so it’s going to be a war, definitely not a doozy. We’re going to be going out and trying to kill each other, I want to get this done in the first two rounds and see where it goes from there. I’m looking forward for it man, there’s nothing that’s gonna be stopping me in this fight."

With eight finishes between the two inside the circle, there is a very high probability that fans will be treated to a spectacular finish when ‘The Monkey God’ and the reigning and defending ONE strawweight world champion are locked inside a cage come December.

Will Joshua Pacio retain the ONE world title or will Jarred Brooks continue his undefeated run under the ONE Championship banner and capture gold?

Watch the full interview with Brooks below: