Joshua Pacio says Jarred Brooks' flyweight loss to Reece McLaren won't be a factor in his preparation for their world title trilogy fight

No other fighter on the ONE Championship roster knows interim strawweight MMA king Jarred Brooks' tendencies inside the ring better than reigning strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio.

'The Passion' has fought Brooks twice, and he believes he can predict to a certain degree how 'The Monkey God' will approach their strawweight MMA world championship unification and trilogy bout at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20, inside the Lusail Sports Arena.

During an interview with The MMA Superfan, Pacio was asked whether he expects his American rival to enact a different strategy against him after Brooks lost to Reece McLaren in his flyweight MMA debut at ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 7, 2024. The Filipino responded:

"And from what we gathered, I think he does some things over and over again, and it becomes muscle memory for him. So it's one of the things we're doing a game plan for."

Watch the entire interview below:

The Lions Nation MMA star's last clash with Brooks happened this past March at ONE 166 in Qatar. Pacio regained 26 pounds of strawweight MMA gold via disqualification after being accidentally spiked on his head during a Brooks slam.

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Joshua Pacio respects Jarred Brooks for short-notice fight with Reece McLaren

Joshua Pacio may have issues with Jarred Brooks inside the circle, but that did not stop him from recognizing the Mash Fight Team athlete's efforts versus fourth-ranked ONE flyweight MMA competitor Reece McLaren.

The 28-year-old said in the same interview:

"Although we might have seen some holes in his game against Reece McLaren, we have to remember that he went up to a higher weight class on like a three-week notice only. I can see it in his body that he [was] not really ready."