MANILA, Philippines – ONE Championship strawweight MMA champion Jarred Brooks is aiming for a finish against Filipino contender Joshua Pacio in the ONE 166 Qatar scheduled Friday, the American fighter said.
Brooks, who defeated Pacio by unanimous decision in December 2022 to grab the strawweight championship, is aiming to knock him out in their rematch.
“I think I beat Joshua Pacio pretty definitively last time. And, I’m willing to do that again and again and again and again until Joshua Pacio’s name is completely out of the picture and I am the best strawweight ever,” the champion told reporters during the pre-event press conference.
“People are underestimating my hunger and my goals in ONE Championship and now, I’m here to show Joshua Pacio who is the best,” he added.
Brooks was able to win the title as he pulled Pacio apart piece by piece.
“I want to knock him out and I wanna finish him. I’m gonna finish him this time,” the American said.
After he lost his title to Brooks, the 28-year-old Pacio, who is representing Lions Nation MMA, defeated Russia’s Mansur Malachiev in October last year.
The Filipino is currently holding a 12-4 win loss record with eight finishes.
Brooks, on the other hand, is coming off a loss against Mikey Musumeci in August last year for the flyweight submission grappling world championship.
In the same press conference, Pacio said he will do whatever it takes to regain the championship.
“I'm more motivated this time… The Filipino fans expect that I will bring home the gold belt this Friday,” he said.
The strawweight clash is one of the premier fights of the ONE 166: Qatar card.
In the main event, Reinier de Ridder will face Anatoly Malykhin for the ONE middleweight MMA world championship.
Tang Kai and Thanh Le will also battle it out in a featherweight MMA world championship unification bout.
Filipino Jeremy Miado will likewise face Japan’s Keito Yamakita in a strawweight match.