ONE Championship: Joshua Pacio shuts down Jarred Brooks' Team Lakay banter for making excuses

Joshua Pacio does not agree with Jarred Brooks' statement that Team Lakay has been making excuses after Lito Adiwang lost to him in the ONE Championship: Winter Warriors II fight card.

'The Passion' was quick to defend his Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao over comments about the fight between Brooks and Adiwang. In a media interview, Sangiao said that the result could have been different if the American fighter had not complained about a low blow that occurred in the second round just right before he secured the submission win.

This reached Brooks and he was not happy with Sangiao's comments during an interview with AsianMMA.com.

“Nothing against Team Lakay, okay, but it seems like every time Lito loses, they have an excuse," said Brooks.

The response from Brooks did not sit well with Pacio. During a local interview, the Filipino champion insisted that it was not an excuse and hopes Adiwang can get a rematch in the future.

"We're not making excuses. We really accept that Lito lost to him. We'll find a way so they can have a rematch. That is what Lito wants. What we were saying before was there was no low blow in that kick. That's a leg kick."

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Joshua Pacio elated to see Robin Catalan and Jeremy Miado back in action at ONE Championship

It is no secret that the ONE Championship strawweight division is getting stacked. Aside from the addition of Jarred Brooks and the emergence of Japanese fighters Yosuke Saruta and Hiroba Minowa, Pacio is happy to see that his fellow Filipino fighters are also making their mark.

There are currently four Filipino fighters competing in the strawweight division aside from Pacio. One of them is his stablemate Lito Adiwang and he is already threading his own path.

Other Filipinos include Catalan brothers Robin and Rene, making their ring returns and Jeremy Miado picking up where he left off with a win over Miao Li Tao.

"I’m very happy to see Filipinos emerge in this weight class, this is really a weight class for a lot of Asian athletes like me," said Pacio. "Jeremy Miado is leveling up and we saw that in his last outing against Miao Li Tao. He just dominated the fight, using his range and boxing skills. And Robin, this guy can close the show in the blink of an eye just like what he did to Gustavo [Balart]."

Two Filipino stars will be in action at ONE: Heavy Hitters. Jeremy Miado faces Senzo Ikeda while Robin Catalan takes on Elipitua Siregar.