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In his strawweight MMA world title win back at ONE 164, Jarred Brooks surprised a lot of people with his striking and how effective it was against Joshua Pacio.
Many assumed going into the first fight that Brooks’ grappling prowess would be the difference if he was to get his hand raised. While the Mash Fight Team star had some success in this area, the contest also had its fair share of striking exchanges.
‘The Monkey God’ has continued to work on his standing skills ahead of the rematch with Pacio at ONE 166 on March 1. Though he expects to also be more effective with his grappling this time around, Jarred Brooks is more than happy to win the fight wherever it goes.
The defending world champion told the South China Morning Post in a recent interview that he will look to showcase his improvements at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar:
“As far as the striking goes I think that, you know, I've been working the past year and three months on my striking except for that Mikey Musumeci fight. But yeah, I think that my striking has gotten a lot better and it's going to show in into this fight.”
Watch the full interview below:
Jarred Brooks is also expecting Joshua Pacio to dial up his striking
For all of the success that Jarred Brooks had against Joshua Pacio the first time around, there were still a lot of moments where the former champion turned challenger could have capitalized.
‘The Passion’ was unable to make the most out of the striking exchanges the first time around, but Brooks knows that this will be one of his main focus points heading into the rematch.
The striking contest may have gone well for Brooks the first time around, but the secret to his success is always in his ability to mix it up and threaten with takedowns. That is unlikely to be any different on March 1, where he will look to defend the strawweight title for the first time.
ONE 166: Qatar will air live and free via Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription on March 1.
