Joshua Pacio plans to settle his "unfinished business" with Jarred Brooks.
In December 2022, Brooks ended Pacio's run as the ONE strawweight MMA world champion with a unanimous decision win at ONE 164. On March 1, they met again with 'The Monkey God' still holding the strap. Unfortunately, the rematch ended in controversy, as Pacio won by disqualification after getting spiked on his head.
Brooks and Pacio were supposed to fight for a third time to settle the score before the latter suffered a torn ACL in training. Therefore, 'The Passion' likely won't defend his ONE strawweight MMA throne until early 2025.
During an interview with Spin.Ph, Pacio had this to say about prioritizing a trilogy bout against Brooks in his next fight:
"I can see where this is heading, so I'll be straightforward. I have unfinished business with Jarred Brooks, and I intend to settle it in the future."
Before getting disqualified at ONE 168, Jarred Brooks held an undefeated promotional record of 4-0, including two submissions. Meanwhile, Joshua Pacio has been the heart of the ONE strawweight MMA division, as he's a 6x world champion in the division and holds a record of 13-4 under the ONE banner.
Watch Brooks lose his world title by disqualification below:
Jarred Brooks has business to take care of before Joshua Pacio trilogy
Jarred Brooks is focused on regaining his ONE strawweight MMA throne and winning a trilogy fight against Joshua Pacio. Unfortunately, Pacio's injury led Brooks to change his plans and face a different opponent later this year.
On August 2, Brooks will headline ONE Fight Night 23 with an opportunity to secure the interim strawweight MMA world title. Standing in the way of 'The Monkey God' is number three-ranked Gustavo Balart, who is riding a four-fight win streak, all decisions, including his latest against Hiroba Minowa.
ONE Fight Night 23 goes down inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The August 2 event can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.