Joshua Pacio explains why he held onto submission before Jarred Brooks’ illegal slam: “I was expecting it to go sideways” 

Newly crowned ONE strawweight MMA world champion and ex-Team Lakay member ‘The Passion’ Joshua Pacio is the king once again. But he didn’t exactly reclaim his throne the way he wanted.

Pacio took on brash American ‘The Monkey God’ Jarred Brooks at ONE 166: Qatar last March 1st, ONE Championship’s historic return to the Middle East.

In the first round, Brooks took Pacio’s back, as ‘The Passion’ grabbed onto a kimura lock that he refused to let go of.

The Filipino stalwart was, however, unceremoniously spiked on his head, care of an illegal maneuver from Brooks. As a result, the fight ended by disqualification, and Pacio became the new champion.

Slams on the head, neck, or spine are prohibited under ONE Championship’s global martial arts rule set.

Speaking to YouTube channel, The MMA Superfan, Pacio explained the harrowing ordeal that nearly paralyzed him.

‘The Passion’ said:

“I know that I was going to be taken down, did you see that my arm was already positioned to defend my landing? I wasn’t expecting that the takedown was going to land that way, I was expecting it to go sideways so I had a base so I wouldn’t land flat on my back, because that was part of my game plan. Never land flat on your back, because he will control you.”

Thankfully, Pacio survived with no major injuries and has been cleared to return to training.

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Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks bury the hatchett

There’s been a lot of bad blood between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks, but it looks like the two have come to terms with their rivalry. The elite strawweights met at the hotel lobby the morning after their fight and hashed things out.

Pacio said:

“My respect for Jarred Brooks really grew. We didn’t talk about trilogies [during the breakfast we had the next day]. He approached me and hugged me while crying and told me, ‘I’m just glad you are ok’. We didn’t talk about setting the next fight up.”