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The start to Joshua Pacio's third reign with the ONE strawweight MMA world title wasn't what he had hoped for.
Instead of having his hand raised in a gallant victory, Pacio recaptured his throne after former world champion Jarred Brooks accidentally spiked him on the head in the world title matchup at ONE 166: Qatar. While Brooks never meant to spike Pacio's head to the canvas at Lusail Sports Arena, he was eventually issued a disqualification loss and forced to relinquish the world title to his rival.
In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Pacio said he had the best training camp of his life but was upset with how the fight ended. Joshua Pacio stressed he worked endlessly on a new arsenal that would've surprised Brooks in their world title rematch. Things, unfortunately, never panned out the way he would've liked.
"My training was pure quality, my training camp was pure quality, my nutrition was pure quality, everything was. We all didn't what happened. Of course, I was just so upset with what happened."
Pacio was quickly brought to the hospital following the nasty incident and was quickly discharged the following day. The Filipino star suffered a neck sprain in the fight, but it is still unclear when he'll be medically cleared to defend the world title.
Joshua Pacio wants trilogy fight against Jarred Brooks to happen in the Philippines
The Philippines has always been one of the best audiences for ONE Championship, and its son Joshua Pacio wants to defend his newly won ONE strawweight MMA world title against Jarred Brooks in Manila.
Brooks beat Pacio for the gold in their first meeting at ONE 164 in Manila, and he now wants to return the favor in a potential trilogy bout.
In the same interview, Pacio said:
"I would love that possible trilogy to happen in the Philippines again. I want all my teammates to fight alongside me, so I want it here. My match with Brooks can be the main event again here in the Philippines, and other Filipino fighters would be on the undercard."
Watch Pacio's entire interview below:
