Joshua Pacio welcomes Jarred Brooks banter: “The trash talk is just for show”

Joshua Pacio learned a lot of lessons in his first contest with Jarred Brooks at ONE 164 in 2022.

Since suffering a defeat to ‘The Monkey God’ and losing his ONE strawweight MMA world championship in the process, Pacio has been dialed in on securing the rematch.

That time is quickly approaching with the two men set to face off once again at ONE 166 on March 1 inside the Lusail Sports Arena.

One aspect of the fight that hasn’t changed since their first meeting is Brooks’ trash talking which was relentless in the build-up to ONE 164.

Though he did back it up on that occasion, Joshua Pacio is still paying little interest to what comes out of his opponent’s mouth, as he told Qabayan Radio 94.3 in a recent interview:

“He’s going to talk a lot of smacks but at the end of the day, we’ll face each other in the Circle. Afterwards, we’ll be cordial again. The trash talk is just for show, just for the hype. I’m just laser-focused until that bell rings for the start of the match.”

Watch the full interview below:

---

Joshua Pacio is only focused on beating Jarred Brooks

Ever since he lost his title to Jarred Brooks at ONE 164, Joshua Pacio has been chasing down this rematch.

His win over Mansur Malachiev last time out solidified his status as the top contender in the division but now it’s time to capitalize on the opportunity he has been chasing.

The time for talking, at least on Brooks’ side, is nearly over and Pacio knows that he needs to deliver a better performance than the first time around to reclaim the strawweight gold.

One thing he can’t afford to expect is that Brooks will take him lightly because despite all of his trash-talking, he always shows up on fight night.

ONE 166: Qatar will air live and free via Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription on March 1.