“The best performance of the night” - Chatri Sityodtong lauds Joshua Pacio’s valiant come-from-behind win over Jarred Brooks

ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong was among those who came away impressed from the TKO victory that Joshua Pacio had in Qatar last week to become the undisputed strawweight MMA world champion. As per him, it was the best performance of the night.

'The Passion,' the reigning strawweight king, solidified his standing as the top dog in the 125-pound division by defeating interim world champion and American rival Jarred Brooks by TKO in the second round of their unification match at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20. The Filipino champion came from behind to make a late charge to claim the win that had the crowd at the Lusail Sports Arena all excited and in awe.

At the post-event press conference, Sityodtong spoke about what went down in the headlining contest of ONE 171, which marked the return of the promotion to Qatar for the second straight year, highlighting how Joshua Pacio more than proved his doubters wrong.

The ONE executive said:

"I think the main event, from my understanding, Jarred Brooks was a three-to-one favorite. So that fight was crazy. I mean, the first round for four minutes at least. But you know, hats off to Joshua. Joshua, finishing a guy like Jarred was definitely, no one. I guarantee you, there's nobody, no expert around the world who said Joshua Pacio is going to finish Jarred Brooks in the second round. So that, for me, was probably the best performance of the night."

Watch the press conference below:

At ONE 171, Joshua Pacio was tested early by Brooks but he was able to hold his own. In the second round, he started to gain headway with his striking, eventually managing to take down 'The Monkey God' where he inflicted further damage.

Once he got past Brooks' guard, he pummeled his opponent with an elbow to the face and body shots and then threw ferocious hammer fists with no end, forcing the referee to finally wave off the match at the 4:22 mark of the second round.

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Joshua Pacio earns $50,000 performance bonus for TKO win at ONE 171

Chatri Sityodtong did not only heap praise on Joshua Pacio but he also saw it fit to reward the strawweight champion with a $50,000 performance bonus for his stellar finish of Jarred Brooks at ONE 171.

The Lions Nation MMA standout was one of five fighters given the incentive bonus at fight night for their impressive performances in Qatar.

It was the first $50,000 bonus for Pacio in his ONE campaign, leaving him utterly grateful for the surprise windfall.

The full replay of ONE 171: Qatar is available via watch.onefc.com.