“I was made for this” - Jarred Brooks flips the script on Team Lakay ethos, vows to take Joshua Pacio’s belt

As top-ranked ONE Championship strawweight contender, Jarred Brooks is preparing to meet reigning champion Joshua Pacio in the circle. Fans are gearing up for a dramatic fight week and fight night too.

A master wordsmith, Jarred Brooks isn’t one to mince words. In fact, he knows exactly how to piece sentences together in the most creative of ways just to get under his opponent’s skin.

In a recent interview with The South China Morning Post, ‘The Monkey God’ used Pacio’s iconic Team Lakay slogan against him, turning the tables on the Baguio City, Philippines-based stable:

“To Joshua Pacio. He said that he was born for this. But isn't your team's theme, ‘Champions are not born, they're made’? So Joshua Pacio, I'm going to take your team's thing and I'm going to say, I was made for this. I was not born for this. I was made for this. So Josh, hope to see you on December 3rd, my man.”

Team Lakay has always lived by the slogan: “Champions are not born, they are made.” The iconic quote from the team’s founder and head coach Mark Sangiao is plastered all across the halls of their main gym in Pico, La Trinidad. A reminder of the hard work necessary to build a world champion.

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Jarred Brooks appreciates support from Filipino fans despite having to face their hometown hero

Jarred Brooks will head into hostile territory when he meets Joshua Pacio at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on December 3 in the main event of ONE 164.

The two strawweights have been on a collision course since Brooks joined ONE Championship in October of 2021.

After defeating three of the top five strawweights in the division, including Pacio’s teammate Lito Adiwang, Brooks earned a crack at ONE Championship gold and is excited for this biggest test of his career so far.

In the same interview with The South China Morning Post, Jarred Brooks had a message for Filipino fans:

“Yeah, guys, thank you guys so much for tuning in to ONE, period. I know that sometimes wrestlers, to a certain point can be boring, but I show it in a different aspect. And I just show where I'm from and how I go around from fights. So yeah, I appreciate all of you guys and hope to see all of the fans in the Philippines. And yeah, thank you guys so much.”

Conversely, fans can’t wait to see ‘The Monkey God’ and ‘The Passion’ settle their epic rivalry in the circle this December. For those who love action-packed fights, this is certainly not one to miss.