"[I want] to show him who’s the best strawweight on the planet and who the real daddy is" - Joshua Pacio is ready for his title defense against Jarred Brooks

The rivalry between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks will finally reach its climax and the reigning ONE strawweight world champion can’t wait for their feud to reach its boiling point.

Brooks became the clear No.1 contender for the title when he beat Bokang Masunyane via first-round submission at ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic.

While there’s no date yet for the match, neither Pacio nor Brooks have been shy of their desire to one-up each other.

Brooks was always the one to start the trash talk, while Pacio was happy to give the counter. In an interview with ONE Championship, Pacio said he’s about to show ‘The Monkey God’ why he’s the reigning strawweight king.

“[I want] to show him who’s the best strawweight on the planet and who the real daddy is. I heard you calling my name many times. Don’t you worry, I’ll see you soon.”

Brooks wasted no time in calling out Pacio when he arrived at ONE Championship in late 2021. The No.1 strawweight contender went on a scorched earth campaign to get the champion’s attention.

Since his arrival in the promotion all the way up until his win over Masunyane this April, Brooks was relentless on the microphone in targeting Pacio and Team Lakay.

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Joshua Pacio expected Brooks vs. Masunyane to the distance

Brooks and Masunyane both had 2-0 records in ONE Championship heading into their title eliminator in ONE 156. Both fighters had a unanimous decision win and a finish to their names, and this similarity was what made Pacio think that the fight would go the distance.

Unexpectedly, Brooks went for a quick finish and put Masunyane to sleep with a rear-naked choke 4:39 into the first round. Breaking down the fight, Joshua Pacio said:

“I expected a unanimous decision win by Brooks, but he displayed his wrestling and grappling prowess. I must say, I’m very impressed. Bokang is equally a fine wrestler, and I think he wants to prove that, but Brooks was very slick taking his back.”