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It's been a rough road back for Joshua Pacio. After taking back the ONE strawweight MMA world championship via an unfortunate disqualification at ONE 166 in Qatar, 'The Passion' was forced to undergo surgery to repair an ACL injury.
That has kept him on the shelf for nearly a year, but now, the undisputed strawweight titleholder is back in the gym and preparing for one of the biggest fights of his mixed martial arts career.
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Ahead of his return to the Lusail Sports Arena for ONE 171 on Thursday, Feb. 20, Pacio sat down with ONE Championship to discuss his devastating injury and the lengthy recovery process.
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“The worst thing that can happen to an athlete are injuries," Pacio said. "But at the end of the day, I still thank God for the healing. I’m 100 percent back. I’ve recovered well. I’m back training, and that’s all I ask for.”
When Pacio returns to the Circle next month, he'll find himself standing across from none other than the promotion's current interim ONE strawweight MMA king, Jarred 'The Monkey God' Brooks.
How did we get to Joshua Pacio vs. Jared Brooks III?
Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks first met at ONE 164 in Dec. 2022. That night, 'The Monkey God' delivered a dominant five-round performance to bring the ONE strawweight MMA world title back home with him to the United States.
15 months later, they would run it back, but their rematch will leave their intense rivalry far from over.
Less than 60 seconds into the scrap, Brooks inadvertently spiked Pacio on his head during a takedown attempt, bringing their bout to an immediate halt. Brooks was ultimately disqualified for the illegal, albeit unintentional maneuver, resulting in Pacio again being crowned the undisputed strawweight champ.
Now, they'll look to settle things once and for all on martial arts' biggest global stage when ONE Championship heads back to the Middle East.
ONE 171 will emanate from the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar on Thursday, Feb. 20. Early bird tickets are now available via ONE Championship’s official website.
