“That’s part of the game” – Jarred Brooks says he’s been ‘demonized’ as a fighter after illegal slam on Joshua Pacio

Jarred Brooks has been taking it on the chin ever since he dumped Joshua Pacio on his head. After more than a year removed from their inaugural meeting at ONE 164, 'The Monkey God' stepped back inside the Circle at ONE 166: Qatar for a rematch with the man he took the ONE strawweight MMA world title from, Joshua Pacio.

Sadly, the bout ended in disaster a mere 56 seconds in when Brooks initiated a takedown by lifting Pacio off the ground and inadvertently spiking him on the top of his head. The illegal maneuver immediately brought an end to the bout and referee Herb Dean disqualified Brooks, crowning Pacio the new strawweight MMA champ.

Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA, 'The Monkey God' revealed that he has taken a heap of criticism since the incident with fight fans around the world demonizing him on social media.

"I’ve never been demonized more as a fighter than [after] slamming this dude on his head unintentionally. Everybody from other countries saying ‘That was a dirty illegal slam. You’re nasty for that. You’re a dirty fighter.' C’mon man."

He added:

"I don’t care man. I'm a fighter. If I get a no-contest, a disqualification, that’s part of the game. I really don’t give a sh*t at this point. I just care about feeding my family and getting to the next fight and staying healthy."

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Joshua Pacio happy to settle things with Jarred Brooks in a trilogy bout

Though Joshua Pacio is happy to have the ONE strawweight MMA world title back around his waist, the win did not come in the way he hoped it would.

Taking to social media after the unfortunate finish, 'The Passion' made it clear that he holds no ill will toward Brooks and will be more than happy to sign on the dotted line for a trilogy fight once he's 100% and ready to go.

“All respect to my brother @the_monkeygod and his team," Pacio wrote on Instagram following the fight. "Heads up bro, it’s nobody’s fault, we are in this hurt business, and anything can happen inside that circle. You are an awesome Champion and a Person bro. God bless you and your family always. I’ll recover as soon as possible and will go back to training and hopefully we run it back in the future

Do you want to see Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio compete a third time after the controversial finish to their sequel scrap in March?