“KO Philippines’ golden boy” - Strawweight MMA king Jarred Brooks wants to end rival Joshua Pacio in Qatar

Jarred Brooks sent a warning to Joshua Pacio ahead of their highly-anticipated rematch.

In December 2022, Brooks ended Pacio’s second run as the ONE strawweight MMA world champion. Over a year later, the world-class fighters will meet again when the promotion holds their first event in Qatar on March 1 at ONE 166.

Following his defeat against Brooks, Pacio bounced back in October 2023 by securing a unanimous decision win against then-undefeated Russian Mansur Malachiev.

During this time, ‘The Monkey God’ failed to become a two-sport world champion when he challenged ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci.

Less than two months before ONE 166, Brooks added fuel to the fire by posting this message on his temporary Instagram story:

“March 1st ,2024 DOHA, Qatar Opponent: Joshua pacio I promise to ko philippines golden boy”

Brooks’ Instagram story

Jarred Brooks vs. Joshua Pacio 2 isn’t the only reason to watch ONE 166. The March 1 event will feature a must-see rematch as Anatoly Malykhin attempts to become a three-division MMA world champion by taking out Reinier de Ridder for a second time.

Meanwhile, Tang Kai returns to defend his featherweight MMA world title in a rematch against Thanh Le, who became the interim title holder while Tang was injured. They first fought in August 2022, with the Chinese superstar winning by unanimous decision.

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Jarred Brooks calls for future striking matches Jonathan Di Bella, Joseph Lasiri, and Mikey Musumeci

Jarred Brooks’ submission grappling loss against Mikey Musumeci might have been a precursor to the future challenges he will face in other martial arts. During an interview with Nicolas Atkins, Brooks foreshadowed future striking super-fights by saying this:

“If I would do a Muay Thai main event, I would like to go against [Jonathan] Di Bella]. I think me and Di Bella would be more of a 4-ounce boxing fight. The other Italian, Joseph Lasiri, I'll do Muay Thai for sure. All these guys I'll mix it up. I'll even go against Mikey again. I don't give a shit.”

Jarred Brooks is riding high on confidence, but he can’t overlook his intense rematch against Joshua Pacio. Before losing against ‘The Monkey God,’ Pacio terrorized the ONE strawweight MMA division with two dominant title reigns.

Only time will tell if Pacio can avenge his loss to Brooks and regain ONE gold.