Joshua Pacio talks about Jarred Brooks beating teammate Lito Adiwang

On Saturday, December 3, ONE Championship will return to the Philippines for ONE 164. In the main event, Joshua Pacio will defend his ONE strawweight world championship against No.1-ranked contender Jarred Brooks.

Since joining the promotion in 2021, Brooks has earned three straight victories over top talents, including Lito Adiwang, Hiroba Minowa, and Bokang Masunyane. With two submission victories in his three outings under the ONE banner, ‘The Monkey God’ has earned himself a shot at ‘The Passion’ in Manilla.

Speaking to ONE Championship about his next challenger, Joshua Pacio discussed Brooks’ performance against his teammate Lito Adiwang at ONE: NextGen III in November.

“Jarred put the pace on Lito and that was a double-edged sword for him. Jarred felt Lito’s power, especially the uppercut. And then when Lito hit Jarred with a leg kick, he complained about it being a groin shot when it wasn’t. It hit the muscle above Jarred’s knee. Should have been a finish for Lito, in my opinion.”

Joshua Pacio and Adiwang are both members of Team Lakay, an MMA gym based out of La Trinidad, Philippines.

“But yeah, Jarred’s pressure is tough to deal with. Where Lito made a mistake was he was too aggressive and wanted to finish Jarred right away. Lito had what it took to beat Jarred, he just needed to employ a more patient game plan.”

Watch the showdown between Adiwang and Brooks below:

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Joshua Pacio is "extremely confident" he will beat Jarred Brooks at ONE 164

Reigning ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio will step back into the circle to defend his title for the fourth time against the ever-dangerous Jarred Brooks.

By the time he walks down the ramp to meet ‘The Monkey God’, it will have been more than a year since we last saw Pacio compete. Despite the long layoff, ‘The Passion’ will be more than ready for his next challenge.

“Jarred earned his spot at the top. He beat a lot of big names, all the guys in the top five. All I can say is that he’s a very dangerous opponent and this isn’t going to be an easy fight by any means. He’s no walk in the park. "

He further added:

“At the same time, I can say it won’t be easy for him to take the belt either. I’ve worked hard for this for many years. There can only be one winner in the fight, but I know no matter what, it won’t be easy for him. I’m extremely confident I can beat him and retain my world title.”

Watch a compilation of Pacio's performances inside the circle below: