Joshua Pacio believes he and Jarred Brooks were both at peak form in classic trilogy: “We just did it a little better”

Newly crowned unified and undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world champion 'The Passion' Joshua Pacio of the Philippines says he and American rival 'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks were at their best when they met for their highly anticipated trilogy match at ONE 171: Qatar last week.

Pacio delivered a shocking second-round finish of the interim titleholder to successfully unify the ONE strawweight MMA world title, taking home a $50,000 performance bonus in the process.

And even though Brooks seemed out of sorts in the second round of the fight, Pacio believes it was because he had better preparation.

Speaking to YouTube channel, The MMA Superfan, in a recent interview, Pacio talked about his victory over Brooks.

'The Passion' said:

"Yes, I was surprised. We all know Jarred Brooks. So I wondered, ‘Why is it like this? It wasn’t like this in our first fight.’ That was what was on my mind. But I think we just really prepared well this time around. Of course, he prepared himself also, but we just did it a little better. It’s all about proper preparation."

ONE 171: Qatar was broadcast live from the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, last Thursday, February 20. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action via replay on-demand on watch.onefc.com or on the official YouTube channel.

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Joshua Pacio thanks Filipino fans for coming out in support in Qatar: "A home away from home"

Unified strawweight MMA king 'The Passion' Joshua Pacio came out to a chorus of cheers at Lusail Sports Arena for his main event showdown with 'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks at ONE 171: Qatar last week, and the adulation came from a partisan Filipino crowd.

There's a large Filipino contingency in Qatar that came out in droves to support their hero.

Pacio told ONE Championship:

"That’s why I call it a home away from home. Thank you, Filipinos. Filipinos are very globally competitive all over the world. Filipinos are there. Thank you very much."

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Joshua Pacio's next fight.