Joshua Pacio says "respect" only comes after he’s done with Jarred Brooks: “We have to go to war first”

Joshua Pacio knew what he was getting himself for in during the build-up to his return at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

The former ONE strawweight MMA world champion arrives in Qatar to try and reclaim the crown and, in the process, avenge his loss to Jarred Brooks.

Their first meeting at ONE 164 back in 2022 had the stakes raised by Brooks’ continued trash-talking ahead of the fight. Though ‘The Monkey God’ was able to back up his words on the night, there is still unfinished business to attend to.

As the two top strawweights in the division, they will run it back at the Lusail Sports Arena, but Joshua Pacio will have known to expect a similar approach from his former foe.

‘The Passion’ told Sportskeeda MMA in an interview on fight week that they will bury the hatchet on fight night but not before they face off once again:

“At the end of the day, you will see real martial artists, you know, that's respect. So that's what we have, respect. But, you know, we go to war first, we have to go to war first.”

Watch the full interview below:

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Joshua Pacio has the support of his fans out in Qatar

Given Jarred Brooks’ larger-than-life personality and confidence, it’s no shock to see the fans out in Qatar siding with Joshua Pacio in this fight.

The press conference on fight week showed that Pacio has got the backing of the crowd that will be inside the Lusail Sports Arena on Friday having compared the atmosphere to being back at home in the Philippines.

Brooks won’t mind playing the villain but he is also keen to win over the fans and gain their admiration with his performance in the rematch.

For Joshua Pacio, the backing of the crowd will surely motivate him to go on and produce a better performance the second time around.

ONE 166: Qatar will air live and free via Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription on March 1.