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Joshua Pacio has ruled the ONE Championship strawweight division for some time and still awaits his next match in Asia's premier MMA organization.
Meanwhile, a fighter who just entered ONE Championship has captured Pacio's attention. Jarred Brooks made noise coming to the organization after defeating his Team Lakay stablemate Lito Adiwang during ONE: NextGen III.
Prior to the bout, Brooks already tagged Pacio in numerous media quotes and called him out again after the American fighter won vs. Adiwang. The two-time reigning champion acknowledges Brooks' skills and ability to engage MMA fans.
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"I think Brooks is very good at hooking audiences to watch a fight plus he has skills and wide experience. For sure, his entry here in ONE raised the bar higher for the strawweights here."
Nonetheless, Pacio told Brooks he won't be an easy opponent if they face each other inside the cage.
"To Jarred Brooks, welcome to my division. But don't you ever think that we'll hand you the belt that easily."
Mark Sangiao sees Jarred Brooks pushing his Team Lakay fighters in ONE Championship to be better
Mark Sangiao sees the silver lining after Lito Adiwang's most recent ONE Championship bout. The Team Lakay founder believes his pupil gained valuable insight through defeat.
"The Thunder Kid has a lot of potential and we are all witnesses of what he can pull off inside the cage. This match against Jarred is another indispensable learning lesson that will push us to upgrade, and believe me, this is still not Lito's best version because he has a lot more to offer through time and experience."
Sangiao also feels Adiwang's Team Lakay stablemates are motivated for fresh competition coming into ONE Championship.
"We always see a new player as a new threat but a positive threat. When you face an unfamiliar threat, what do you do? You deal with it, you equip yourself and by doing so, you become better. Jarred is a driver for our athletes to keep growing."
