Jarred Brooks says beating Joshua Pacio for undisputed gold will “feel way better” after capturing interim crown in Bangkok

American Jarred Brooks is happy to have claimed the interim ONE strawweight MMA world title but admits the primary goal is to once again become the undisputed king of the division, which is currently ruled by Filipino rival Joshua Pacio.

'The Monkey God' defeated veteran Cuban fighter Gustavo Balart in the headlining contest at ONE Fight Night 24 on Prime Video on Aug. 2 in Bangkok, Thailand by submission (rear-naked choke) in the opening round to win the interim belt.

At the post-fight interview session, Brooks talked about the significance of winning the interim strawweight world title and how he intends to use it moving forward.

The 31-year-old fighter said:

"It means a lot, but it's gonna feel way better when I get to go against Joshua Pacio and unify that world championship and take that away from him twice in Manila."

At ONE Fight Night 24, Brooks knew exactly what to do, shooting for a takedown and applying a lot of pressure with his grappling. It did not take long before his efforts paid off, eventually securing the back of 'El Gladiador' and sealing the deal with a rear-naked choke in the closing seconds of the first round.

Brooks used to be the undisputed strawweight world champion after dethroning Pacio in their first encounter in December 2022 in Manila. He got knocked off from that standing by 'The Passion' in their title rematch in March by disqualification after he executed an illegal slam that had his opponent hitting the canvas head first.

ONE Championship held an interim strawweight title fight as Pacio is out indefinitely for an ACL injury he suffered even before he took on Brooks in their rematch.

Jarred Brooks says defeat to Joshua Pacio in title rematch an eye-opener

That Jarred Brooks was extremely motivated in his title conquest at ONE Fight Night 24 on Prime Video on Aug. 2 was not all surprising since he took to heart the lessons from the loss he absorbed at the hands of Joshua Pacio before it.

The American fighter lost the undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world title to the Filipino warrior in their title rematch in March after being disqualified for an illegal slam he executed in the opening round. He said the DQ loss served as an eye-opener for him and jolted his motivation further when he vied for the interim belt against Gustavo Balart last time around.

Brooks said:

"So it was a big kick in the a**, but at the same time, it gave me three times as much motivation, and it changed my landscape and how I think, and how I go about this fight game."

Now the interim strawweight world champion, Brooks is looking forward to facing the currently injured Pacio at some point in a trilogy fight to unify the belts in the division.