The world and the strawweight champion Joshua Pacio will have their eyes on the top contender fight at ONE: Reloaded on April 22. This bout will see the top two ranked strawweights in ONE Championship battling to see who gets the next shot at Pacio.
American wrestler Jarred Brooks will face Bokang Masunyane of South Africa at ONE's next blockbuster event. Joshua Pacio recently weighed in on the April 22 fight. He kept the message brief. On Instagram, he said:
"May the best man win. Excited to watch [these] two explosive warriors collide."
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A small knot is developing at the top of the strawweight division. The top three fighters are clearly ahead of the others in the division.
Joshua Pacio, Jarred Brooks, Bokang Masunyane at the top
ONE Championship's strawweight division is full of incredible talent, but Pacio, Brooks, and Masunyane are clearly a cut above the rest.
Jarred Brooks made his debut in ONE in 2021. He has already defeated two top-ranked contenders in Hiroba Minowa and Lito Adiwang. The Indiana native has won four in a row in Asia's top fighting organization and will look to make it five on April 22. In a recent interview with The AllStar, Brooks said of his upcoming opponent:
"I think that he’s earned his keep. Don’t get me wrong, he hasn’t faced anybody that’s like extremely good, to be honest, for him to be ranked number one. He’s super fascinating to watch."
Bokang Masunyane has had a very impressive run in ONE Championship thus far. He showed his skills in his debut match against Ryuto Sawada. Then he made quick work of Rene Catalan, using a headkick to earn a knockout in just 37 seconds into round one.
Brooks and Masunyane will now fight at ONE: Reloaded for a shot at Joshua Pacio. The reigning champion of the strawweight division made his debut in ONE in 2016 and has been a staple of the organization ever since.
He won the strawweight gold in 2018 and has since defended it in three bouts. The 26-year-old has a long list of defeated foes, including Yosuke Saruta, Alex Silva, and Catalan, among others.
ONE: Reloaded on April 22 will see Jarred Brooks and Bokang Masunyane trying to make their case for fighting Pacio next.