ONE
Championship strawweight (125-pound) title holder Jarred
Brooks claims he’ll leave no doubt about his GOAT status when
he defends his strap against former champ Joshua
Pacio at
ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.
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Brooks (20-2) will return to action for the first time since
December 2022, when he dethroned Pacio (20-4) via a hard-earned
unanimous decision in a bout that some believe could have gone
either way. While Brooks believes he did enough to get his hand
raised last time, he plans to quiet the remaining doubters by
finishing Pacio in the rematch.
“I think I beat Joshua Pacio pretty [definitively] last time,”
Brooks said at a pre-fight press conference. “I’m willing to do
that again and again and again until Joshua Pacio’s name is
completely out of the picture and I am the best strawweight ever. I
am the GOAT of the strawweights.
“People are underestimating my hunger and my goals in ONE
Championship. Now, I’m here to show Joshua Pacio who is the best. I
want to knock him out, and I want to finish him. I’m gonna finish
him this time.”
Pacio has since returned to the win column with a decision victory
over previously unbeaten Russian contender Mansur
Malachiev this past October. The Filipino is glad to have crowd
support in Qatar and looks to inspire the next generation of
fighters by reclaiming his title.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m in Manila right now. There’s a lot of
Filipinos. In every country that I compete in, there are a lot of
Filipinos,” Pacio said.
“Being one of the athletes in ONE Championship makes me so proud
that I belong to the greatest and largest martial arts organization
in the world. Competing here, I believe God put me on this platform
to inspire the next generation. If you have dreams, go chase them.
To the Filipinos, expect that I will bring home the gold belt this
Friday.”