Joshua Pacio hell-bent on reclaiming world title “taken from Filipinos” by Jarred Brooks

Former ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio will come in for his next fight with Filipino fans also at the back of his mine as he tries to reclaim his championship belt now held by divisional king Jarred Brooks.

‘The Passion’ battles ‘The Monkey God’ in a title rematch at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1, part of the first-ever live on-ground ONE Championship event to be held in Qatar.

The two met back in December 2022, where American Brooks took the strawweight MMA gold from Pacio by unanimous decision in front of Filipino fight fans in Manila. It is something the latter is looking to make up for at ONE 166.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Joshua Pacio shared his goals for 2024 and how he wants to make it eventful for Filipinos by returning to the top of the ONE strawweight MMA division. He said:

“Speaking of the New Year, expect a big bang in 2024 because I’m laser-focused on getting that title again that was taken from us Filipinos. I expect your full support and prayers heading into this fight.”

Watch the interview below:

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Joshua Pacio looks to build on lessons from first fight with Jarred Brooks

Filipino fighter Joshua Pacio said he learned a lot from his first encounter with Jarred Brooks. He is now looking to incorporate those lessons along with the things he has developed for their scheduled rematch later this year.

Among them is the need to be assertive, as highlighted by his new BJJ coach Gibran Langbayan, by way of taking control of the contest and not allowing Brooks to have his way with his grappling.

The 28-year-old Lions Nation MMA standout told in the same interview with The MMA Superfan:

“Professor Gibran Langbayan asked me what I wanted to improve on and what I wanted to execute in this upcoming rematch. While I’m comfortable in my guard game, he taught me that I shouldn’t be overly reliant on it. Instead, I should be the one controlling the action.”

Armed with his improved ground game and solid stand-up arsenal, Joshua Pacio went eyeball-to-eyeball with Brooks the first time around. The match went the full route, but he just could not get the nod of the judges as he slumped to the defeat by decision.

He returns to action fresh from a unanimous decision victory over fellow strawweight contender Mansur Malachiev of Russia in October.

For his part, Jarred Brooks is seeking to rebound after his failed bid to become a two-sport ONE world champion in August when he challenged but lost to flyweight submission grappling king Mikey Musumeci.

ONE 166: Qatar will take place at Lusail Sports Arena and will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.