“I think he's overlooking me” - Joshua Pacio suggests Jarred Brooks is underestimating him

Filipino fighter Joshua Pacio said ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks should know better than underestimating him in their title rematch this week, lest he find himself sans the championship belt after it.

‘The Passion’ will try to seize back the strawweight gold that ‘The Monkey God’ took from him in 2022 at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

It is one of three title rematches on offer at the landmark Qatar event, which is happening at the Lusail Sports Arena and is available to Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America live and for free.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Joshua Pacio shared how he feels Brooks is overlooking him in the lead-up, which could be disastrous for the American champion.

The 28-year-old Lions Nation MMA standout said:

“Yeah, I think he's overlooking me, you know. Right now, I’m the biggest challenge he has and he shouldn’t be overlooking me because I’m going to go out there and give my all and get that belt.”

Watch the interview below:

Pacio lost the strawweight gold in December 2022 to Brooks by unanimous decision. He has since bounced back from it, chalking a hard-earned decision victory over Russian Mansur Malachiev in October.

For his part, Brooks is coming off an unsuccessful bid to become a two-sport world champion in August, losing by submission to flyweight grappling king Mikey Musumeci.

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Joshua Pacio says he is prepared for whatever Jarred Brooks will throw at him in rematch

Joshua Pacio said he is ready for whatever American champion Jarred Brooks will throw at him in their scheduled title rematch on March 1 at ONE 166: Qatar.

He said he and his team at Lions Nation MMA worked deep in training to address every nook and cranny in his game to come up with a thorough game plan against Brooks and reclaim the ONE strawweight MMA world title.

In an interview with Qabayan Radio 94.3, ‘The Passion’ provided details on what they did in training camp, saying:

“One of the things we did in our training camp was more on simulation and situations. So, all of the aspects that Jarred would bring, what he’ll do in the fight against me, we made sure that we have a counter for everything.”

Watch the interview below:

ONE 166 is the promotion's first-ever live on-ground event in Qatar. It is part of ONE's push to bring its world-class brand of martial arts action to different parts of the world this year.