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Joshua Pacio was expecting a full 25-minute war of attrition with his eternal rival Jarred Brooks in their grudge match at ONE 171: Qatar last week.
After all, they already went five full rounds in their first meeting back in 2022, where 'The Monkey God' got the better of him.
Much to 'The Passion's surprise, an opportunity to finish Brooks came in round two. The American was clearly gassed after cranking multiple submission attempts in the first and had nothing left in the ensuing round.
The Lions Nation MMA affiliate pounced, as he emphatically unified the strawweight MMA world titles with a decisive TKO finish.
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In an exclusive interview with The MMA Superfan, Joshua Pacio admitted he didn't expect the win to come as swiftly as it did:
"I think round three was our target round for an all-out attack because that’s where he slows down. Well, not really slow down, because we know his pedigree, but that’s where he lies low on his strength. So that’s where I would have attacked with 100%. So, it was unexpected because we expected a five-round war. So I’m ready, we were really prepared for it. We’re blessed to get the win in just round two."
The full replay of ONE 171: Qatar is available via watch.onefc.com.
Joshua Pacio shares how he survived Jarred Brooks' onslaught
There were multiple instances where it felt like Jarred Brooks was going to put Joshua Pacio away.
'The Monkey God' secured a mounted guillotine, a D'Arce choke, and what appeared like a tight arm-in guillotine. Somehow, someway, the proud Filipino warrior calmly defended himself and was able to escape each time.
Turns out, Pacio's experience fighting at the highest levels allowed him to do so. 'The Passion' said during the post-event presser:
"The pressure is my friend. You need to be friends with the pressure. You know, I'm used to it. Ten years in ONE Championship, I didn't expect it. I was 19 years old, and now I'm 29 so I'm used to it."
Watch the full ONE 171: Qatar post-event press conference:
