Jarred Brooks talks about fighting in front of Filipino crowd

In the main event of ONE 164, America's 'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks went into enemy territory and faced Filipino warrior Joshua Pacio in Manila, Philippines.

Despite defeating 'The Passion' and taking his world title in front of a Filipino audience, Jarred Brooks explained that the crowd were nothing but class. In an interview with ONE Championship, 'The Monkey God' explained:

"Yeah, I don't really think that I was surprised. I mean, from the crowd, hearing after, my after-fight speech, they were all cool. I didn't have one issue with any Filipino."

ONE Championship held two events at the Mall of Asia in Manila, Philippines to end the year, with ONE on Prime Video 5 followed by ONE 164. It was the organization’s first time back in the country since the global pandemic. ONE will likely return for more events in the near future now that travel restrictions have been eased.

'The Passion' Joshua Pacio was previously the long-reigning champion in the strawweight division. Jarred Brooks, however, managed to defeat him over a five-round decision.

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Will Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio rematch?

The battle between Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio for the ONE strawweight throne was a highly anticipated affair. Considering how long 'The Passion' had held the prestigious world title, the two are likely to have a rematch in the future.

Pacio explained that he is in no rush, but knows he will be fighting for the throne down the line. In an interview with ONE, 'The Passion' said:

“I trained almost every day to improve. I’ll take this loss as a big lesson. I’m confident that I’ll come back stronger after this. I’m not in a hurry to regain my crown but if they offer me the rematch, I’ll definitely going to take it 100%. But if not, I’ll just continue to level up my game.”

'The Monkey God' shared a similar sentiment. During his post-fight presser, Brooks explained:

"This isn’t the end with Joshua Pacio. We were just talking about it too. So, I would love to give him another chance in Denver in the United States. He can come to my home turf and we can see where it goes from there."

Watch Brooks' full post-fight press conference via SCMP MMA below: