“I should be the one controlling the action” – Joshua Pacio says new BJJ coach helped him realize his mistakes vs. Jarred Brooks

Filipino fighter Joshua Pacio said he needs to be more assertive in his rematch with ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks in March.

He shared it is an advice he received from his new BJJ coach, who has been brought in to help him develop a more rounded gameplan this time around.

The Lions Nation MMA standout will try to seize back the strawweight MMA gold from the ‘The Monkey God’ in their rematch at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

‘The Passion’ stood toe-to-toe with Brooks in their title clash in December 2022, including against the American’s vaunted ground game. But he just could not get the nod of the judges in the end, losing unanimous decision.

As he prepares for the rematch, Joshua Pacio said his BJJ coach, Gibran Langbayan, has made him realize the need for him to take control of the match in a variety of ways against Brooks. This, notwithstanding that he is more confident now in his ground game.

The 28-year-old Baguio native shared to The MMA Superfan in a recent interview:

“Professor Gibran Langbayan asked me what I wanted to improve on and what I wanted to execute in this upcoming rematch. While I’m comfortable in my guard game, he taught me that I shouldn’t be overly reliant on it. Instead, I should be the one controlling the action.”

Watch the interview below:

Joshua Pacio returned from the loss with a hard-earned unanimous decision victory over Russian Mansur Malachiev back in October. He once again showed his shored-up ground game along with his crack striking, but unlike his fight against Brooks, he got the decision win.

For his part, Jarred Brooks is seeking to rebound after his failed bid to become a two-sport ONE world champion in August, when he challenged but lost to flyweight submission grappling king Mikey Musumeci.

ONE 166: Qatar is ONE Championship’s first-ever live on-ground event in the Middle Eastern country, happening at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail.

---

Joshua Pacio deems it fit to start early in preparation for rematch with Jarred Brooks

Former ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio is determined to get his championship belt back from reigning divisional king Jarred Brooks, and he saw it fit to start early in his preparation for their rematch later this year.

‘The Passion’ re-engages with ‘The Monkey King’ at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena. It is part of the landmark live on-ground event, which is the first to be held in Qatar.

Preparation for it started as early as during the holidays for Joshua Pacio and his team at Lions Nations MMA to give them more time to work on his game and come up with the appropriate game plan to see their goal of returning to the top through.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the Filipino fighter gave an idea on his mindset heading into the rematch and how their preparation has been like, saying:

“I know that I’m gonna be more focused this time around. I have this team to collaborate, and brainstorm with, that I can truly say and suggest certain routines with what I need for this next fight.”

Pacio first took on Brooks in December 2022 in Manila, where the former lost the strawweight MMA gold to the American fighter by unanimous decision.

Apart from the Brooks-Pacio title rematch, four other world title fights are on offer at ONE 166: Qatar, including the headlining middleweight MMA world title match between champion Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin.