Jarred Brooks gives Joshua Pacio advice on how to beat Mansur Malachiev: “Don't worry too much about the shot”

Reigning ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks offered some sage advice to the man he dethroned, Joshua Pacio, ahead of his return this Friday.

The former kingpin of the 125-pound division makes his way back to the ONE ring for the first time since surrendering his crown to ‘The Monkey God’. The No.1 ranked Pacio, however, will be up against a formidable opponent who will look to make him his stepping stone on the way to a world title shot.

At ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov on Prime Video, ‘The Passion’ will go head-to-head with Russian powerhouse Mansur Malachiev in a possible strawweight MMA world title eliminator.

The Dagestani wrestler turned a lot of heads in his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 11 in June, where he rag-dolled Jeremy Miado en route to a first-round submission victory.

Malachiev plans to do the same to Pacio and take his place at the top of the rankings.

Meanwhile, Jarred Brooks will keep a close eye on this matchup and even gave his former foe tips on how to slow down the Russian’s high-pressure style. ‘The Monkey God’ shared in a recent interview with The South China Morning Post:

“What Joshua has got to do in this fight, if he wants to beat him, is one, be confident in his skills and two, don't worry too much about the shot. Throw your techniques. I feel like that's how you beat somebody like Mansur Malachiev.”

Watch Jarred Brooks’ full interview:

Truth be told, Pacio appeared gun-shy in his unanimous decision loss to Brooks at ONE 164 last year. The dynamic Filipino striker could not unleash his full arsenal on the feet, given the constant threat of getting taken down by the wrestling-heavy Brooks.

Joshua Pacio will be up against another strong grappler with a similar game plan, and we’ll soon see if he fixed the holes in his game at ONE Fight Night 15.

ONE’s tenth Amazon event of the year will air live in US primetime on October 6 from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium. Prime Video subscribers in North America can watch this full card free of charge.