“My hand will be raised” - Joshua Pacio says winning is all that matters vs Jarred Brooks in rubber match

Joshua Pacio would love to finish Jarred Brooks.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, Pacio makes his long-awaited return to martial arts' biggest global stage for one of the most anticipated trilogy fights in ONE history.

Emanating from the Lusail Sports Arena, 'The Passion' will put his ONE strawweight MMA world championship on the line against the division's interim champ Brooks.

The winner will leave as the undisputed king of the strawweight division.

Splitting their first two showdowns inside the Circle, Pacio would love to end their iconic feud definitively, but the Filipino fan favorite will be happy so long as the fight ends with him having his hand raised. Speaking to Bangkok Post, Pacio said:

"So, for me, I’d stick to my game plan. If I get the opportunity to finish it, I will finish it. But at the end of the night, I see myself..my hand will be raised."

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Joshua Pacio has been waiting for this moment

It's been a long road back for Joshua Pacio who suffered a torn ACL in his rematch against 'The Monkey God' at ONE 166 in Qatar last year.

While undergoing surgery and a harrowing recovery process, 'The Passion' has only had one thing on his mind. In an interview with THE MMA Superfan, Pacio said:

"As an athlete, I'm so happy and so grateful. This is the only thing that we've been waiting for, to be able to fight again."

While Pacio was sidelined, ONE Championship introduced an interim strawweight strap at ONE Fight Night 24, pitting Jarred Brooks against Cuban sensation Gustavo Balart in the evening's main event.

'The Monkey God' choked out Balart in less than one round to claim the interim crown and set the stage for a third meeting with Pacio in Qatar.

ONE 171: Qatar will emanate from the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar on Thursday, Feb. 20. Head over to watch.onefc.com to learn more about how you can watch the event live.