“Make each other better” - Joshua Pacio credits rivalry with Jarred Brooks for pushing him to evolve as a martial artist

Joshua Pacio's rivalry with Jarred Brooks is as intense as intense can get but the Filipino fighter said the battles he has had with 'The Monkey God' only improved him as a fighter.

The two are slated to face off again in a trilogy title fight at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20 at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail. They will unify the ONE strawweight MMA championship belts in the headlining contest of the event marking the return of ONE Championship to Qatar for the second straight year.

It will be the latest showdown between the two top strawweight fighters. They first met in December 2022 in Manila, where Brooks seized the strawweight belt from 'The Passion. The two had a rematch in March last year also in Qatar that saw the American fighter lose the belt to Pacio by disqualification for executing an illegal slam in the opening round.

Speaking to ONE Championship in line with his trilogy with Brooks, Lions Nation MMA's Pacio talked about what his rivalry with the Mash Fight Team standout has done to his game.

The 29-year-old Filipino champion said:

"Brooks is a high-level martial artist. I’m a high-level martial artist. We’re certainly going to make each other better."

ONE 171: Qatar will mark the first match back of reigning ONE strawweight champion Pacio after undergoing surgery for the ACL tear he sustained even before he took on Brooks in their rematch.

Brooks, meanwhile, set up the unification bout after he claimed the interim belt back in August with an opening-round submission of Gustavo Balart of Cuba. He, however, was last in action last December, where he made his flyweight debut but lost to Australian Reece McLaren by split decision.

For more information on ONE 171: Qatar, check out onefc.com.

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Joshua Pacio turning to Demetrious Johnson for inspiration for trilogy fight against Jarred Brooks

For his scheduled title defense at ONE 171: Qatar, Joshua Pacio said he is drawing inspiration from former ONE flyweight king and now-retired Demetrious Johnson. Particularly how the MMA legend never backed down from any challenge and made things happen each fight.

He shared this in an interview with ONE Championship, highlighting the "Mighty Mouse mentality" he will be bringing come fight night.

Joshua Pacio said:

"I want to show that I have the answers, that I'm not just gonna rely on my takedown defense to stop him, but I can battle him on the ground, even on my back."

He went on to say:

"I want to show that he's not just the one who's a threat in wrestling, maybe I'll take him down as well. Like DJ. That 'Mighty Mouse' mentality."

At ONE 171, Joshua Pacio is going through another trilogy match in ONE Championship after that he had with former world champion Yosuke Saruta of Japan.