Joshua Pacio says it’ll feel like “going to fight in the Philippines” when he takes on Jarred Brooks at ONE 166 in Qatar

The ONE strawweight MMA world championship is set to be one of the showpieces for ONE Championship’s first-ever event in Qatar, with current world champion Jarred Brooks defending it against rival Joshua Pacio.

Their rivalry is among the most intense ones currently still alive in the promotion, as their first clash in 2022 brought the fireworks that had fans at the edge of their seats.

In December 2022, ‘The Passion’ sought to defend his spot atop the strawweight MMA division against Brooks, but Brooks was just too determined and rode his wrestling pedigree all the way to a unanimous decision win.

Looking ahead to ONE 166 happening inside the Lusail Sports Arena on March 1, the Lions Nation MMA star is hoping that his fellow Filipinos in Qatar will lend him their support once more, as he pointed out in an interview with radio show Qabayan Radio 94.3:

“I’m already expecting it to be like I’m going to fight in the Philippines. I expect we have a lot of ‘kababayans’ or fellow Filipinos in the arena.”

According to the Philippine publication BusinessWorld Online, the Middle Eastern country is a hotbed for Filipino expats with an estimate of 250,000 Filipinos currently employed there.

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Joshua Pacio brushes off Jarred Brooks’ trash talk

It is very clear to fans that there is no love lost between the two strawweight stars as they aim for a decisive finish come ONE 166, and ‘The Monkey God’ is taking the lead in the trash talk department once more.

But for the Filipino star, it is something that he has already grown accustomed to, and is just not willing to engage in it as it is not in his nature.

ONE 166 is available live and free on Prime Video in the United States and Canada.