"There's no fear of aggravating it" - Joshua Pacio says he will fight with "peace of mind" at ONE 171 with injury woes behind him

2024 has not been an easy year for the ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio.

On one hand, 'The Passion' came into this year with one clear goal in mind and he was able to achieve that back at ONE 166: Qatar He reclaimed the strawweight crown from Jarred Brooks after his opponent was disqualified early on in the contest due to accidentally spiking him on his head.

A trilogy fight between them would be used to settle the score but unfortunately, those plans had to be significantly pushed back.

Joshua Pacio suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, which kept him out for the remainder of the year with his return being confirmed for ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20.

As he prepares to face Brooks in a title unification clash at the Lusail Sports Arena, the world champion recently answered the question as to whether there is any concerns regarding his injury.

Pacio silenced any doubts by making it crystal clear in an interview with ONE Championship that's ready to go:

"That's all I wanted. It took all my fears away, it took all my hesitations away. There's no fear of aggravating it anymore. I have peace of mind this time around that I can wrestle, grapple, strike, and work on my conditioning and game without thinking about anything."

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Joshua Pacio is motivated to bring this chapter to an end

During his long recovery process, Joshua Pacio hasn't been short on motivation to make a comeback.

In his absence, Brooks has claimed the interim crown by submitting Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24 in another dominant performance from 'The Monkey God'.

'The Passion' knows that it will not be an easy task to defeat the interim titleholder in their third meeting but he has had a long time to think about this challenge and he was never going to let the opportunity pass him by.