“That Mighty Mouse mentality” - Joshua Pacio to channel his inner Demetrious Johnson in Jarred Brooks trilogy at ONE 171

Joshua Pacio is drawing inspiration from flyweight great Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Circle.

Emanating from the Lusail Sports Arena, ONE 171: Qatar will see Pacio put his undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world championship on the line against the ONE interim strawweight MMA world titleholder, Jarred Brooks, in one of the most anticipated trilogy fights in promotional history.

After coming up short against 'The Monkey God' at ONE 164 in his home country, Pacio goes into ONE 171 with something to prove — especially when it comes to his skills while on the mat. Pacio told ONE Championship during a recent interview:

"I want to show that I have answers, that I’m not just gonna rely on my takedown defense to stop him, but I can battle him on the ground, even on my back."

He added:

"I want to show that he’s not just the one who’s a threat in wrestling, maybe I’ll take him down as well. Like DJ. That Mighty Mouse mentality."

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Joshua Pacio recognizes the improvements Jarred Brooks has made ahead of ONE 171: Qatar

While Joshua Pacio is well aware of how good Jarred Brooks is on the mat, 'The Passion' also acknowledged that Brooks has significantly improved his boxing in recent years, making himself a more complete mixed martial artist in the process.

"If we’re going to watch all of his fights since he started with ONE, he’s always improved," Pacio added. "His striking has gotten better and his grappling is getting better as well."

After defeating Pacio for the undisputed strawweight strap in December 2022, Brooks handed the title back 15 months later at ONE 166 when the promotion made its debut in Qatar last year.

Less than a minute into their rematch, Brooks inadvertently spiked Pacio onto the top of his head during a takedown attempt. As a result, 'The Monkey God' was disqualified and stripped of his 26 pounds of gold.

Since then, Jarred Brooks has become a ONE world champion again, picking up the interim strawweight strap via a first-round submission victory over Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24.

Now, he'll look to trade in his interim title for undisputed gold as two of the best strawweights on the planet square off in a fight that is sure to deliver fireworks in the Middle East.

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