Joshua Pacio admits questioning his faith after getting slammed on his neck by Jarred Brooks: “I was in my best shape”

ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio believes he made it this far in his career due to his strong faith.

However, the Filipino warrior admits his beliefs were put to the test in his last outing inside the Circle.

'The Passion' was in the best shape of his career entering his rematch with tormentor Jarred Brooks at ONE 166: Qatar last March.

In less than a minute, all his hard work went for naught. 'The Monkey God' picked up Pacio and violently slammed him on his neck, causing the match to end abruptly due to disqualification.

While Pacio escaped harm and regained his status as king of the 125-pound MMA division, it certainly wasn't the way he wanted things to go.

In an exclusive interview with ONE Championship, the Lions Nation MMA representative opened up on the rough times he endured.

“In this long layoff, I realized how much God remains in control of our lives. I was asking Him questions. I asked Him, ‘Why?’ In that fight, I felt like I was in my best shape. That was my best training camp, hands down. I hired a nutritionist, I had a quality recovery, and I was so confident at that time. Even when I started walking out to the Circle, I was light on my feet. I was really confident, but that’s what happened.”

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Joshua Pacio says strong faith allowed him to overcome knee injury

Adding to Joshua Pacio's troubles was a partially torn ACL he suffered in training, which sidelined him for the rest of 2024.

'The Passion', though, worked tirelessly in rehab and leaned on his faith to overcome arguably the toughest stretch of his professional career.

Through God's grace, the 28-year-old made a quick recovery and is now ready to resume his career.

“The worst thing that can happen to an athlete are injuries," Pacio told ONE. "But at the end of the day, I still thank God for the healing. I’m 100 percent back. I’ve recovered well. I’m back training, and that’s all I ask for.”

Now fully healed, Joshua Pacio will settle unfinished business with interim strawweight MMA kingpin Jarred Brooks in their highly-anticipated world title unification bout at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb 20 at Lusail Sports Arena.

Follow this link for exclusive first-access tickets to ONE 171: Qatar.