“Recovery is a must” – Joshua Pacio details his grueling training schedule for world title tilt vs. Jarred Brooks at ONE 166: Qatar

Filipino MMA fighter Joshua Pacio sought to strike a balance in his preparation for his title rematch with reigning ONE strawweight world champion Jarred Brooks next week. He said it was an important aspect of his training to come up with a solid performance come fight night.

‘The Passion’ will try to seize back the world title he lost to ‘The Monkey God’ in December 2022 in their do-over at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

It is part of the landmark event happening at the Lusail Sports Arena and airing live free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Speaking to ONE Championship in an interview, the 28-year-old Lions Nation MMA standout shared his regimen for his training camp and how important it is, saying:

“So training comes first. I train twice a day, morning and afternoon. I rest Wednesday afternoon, but then the grind continues. Then I take the full Sunday off.”

Joshua Pacio added:

“I wake up early, but I always try to at least get eight hours of sleep each time. Training is important, but recovery is also a must.”

In his first encounter with Brooks, the former world champion tried hard to stand toe-to-toe against the American fighter, anchored on his vaunted striking and complemented by his improved ground game.

The fight went the full distance, but in the end it was Brooks’ hand that was raised in victory by unanimous decision.

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Joshua Pacio seeks to prove that he is still an elite fighter

Joshua Pacio said having a solid training camp for his upcoming fight is geared towards proving that he is still capable of fighting at an elite level. It is something he is out to back up with a win.

‘The Passion’ seeks to return to the top of the ONE strawweight MMA division by reclaiming the world title from reigning champion Jarred Brooks at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

It is a rematch of their first encounter in December 2022, when ‘The Monkey God’ dethroned the Filipino fighter by unanimous decision.

Heading into the title rematch, Pacio said he made sure that his training was thorough to allow him to put up a winning performance, sharing to ONE Championship in an interview:

“This is mixed martial arts. It’s either you will get hit or you will get taken down. This camp has taught me to have the proper mindset. If I am one of the best in the world, I should fight like it.”

Before losing the strawweight MMA gold to Brooks, Joshua Pacio successfully defended the world title he won back in 2019 three times.