“I can defend my belt in America” - Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks talk about a potential match in the United States

No.1-ranked strawweight contender Jarred Brooks is already counting his chickens before they’re even hatched. ‘The Monkey God’, after all, is uber-confident about his chances against the division’s kingpin Joshua Pacio.

The two best 125-pound fighters in the world are set for a collision course in the main event of ONE 164: Pacio vs Brooks on December 3. The bout takes place on Pacio’s home turf at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

After guaranteeing victory – in spectacular fashion, no less – Brooks is already thinking ahead about giving Pacio an immediate world title rematch. Only this time, the American wants it on his own terms and in his own territory.

The timing could not have been any better since ONE Championship’s global expansion is in full swing. The largest martial arts organization in the world is expected to make history by holding its first events on US soil next year.

Brooks and Pacio recently figured in an interesting back-and-forth during an appearance on JM Siasat’s Sparring Sessions. The brash challenger once again laid out his plans to silence the Filipino crowd by handing Pacio his first taste of defeat inside the Mall of Asia Arena.

Furthermore, Brooks said he’ll give the Team Lakay fighter a warm welcome in America for their rematch. The Mash Fight Team standout shared:

“I’m fighting in your home country when you have the belt, so when I have the belt, you can come to my home country and have a good old taste of America… I’ll have people show you around, wine and dine you, all that stuff, man. And still, I’ll retain my belt, and you can enjoy your time in America.”

The quick-witted Filipino, however, offered a classic retort, claiming his world title is not going anywhere.

Pacio quipped:

“That’s amazing, I can defend my belt in America!”

Catch the full interview here:

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Joshua Pacio shuts down issues of possible ring rust vs Jarred Brooks

It’s been a while since we last saw Joshua Pacio inside the Circle. The 26-year-old last fought at ONE: Revolution in September last year, where he blitzed rival Yosuke Saruta in under a round for his third straight world title defense.

Meanwhile, Pacio and Brooks were initially targeted to lock horns as early as June, but the bout was rescheduled.

Despite the layoff, ‘The Passion’ said the Filipino fans won’t have to worry about his conditioning since he’s been training his butt off the entire time. Pacio said in the same interview with ONE Championship:

“They said that I will have ring rust but no, man. Throughout this year, I’ve been working on my craft. I’ve been working, I do sparring in this fight camp. I do a lot of sparring so I’m ready for a five-round war.”