Joshua Pacio anticipates a “fourth, fifth and sixth” chapter in his storied ONE Championship rivalry with Jarred Brooks, despite settling their trilogy in emphatic style on Thursday night in Qatar.
The 29-year-old Filipino was an underdog with the bookmakers but he – somehow – pulled off an unlikely second-round TKO against the 3/1 favourite Brooks, in a frantic ONE 171 main event at Lusail Sports Arena.
Victory saw Pacio crowned undisputed ONE strawweight MMA king – putting any doubts to bed after winning the title on a DQ last year in Doha, when American Brooks spiked him on his head to earn a red card.
“The Monkey God” had since gone on to claim an interim title, with Pacio sidelined by his recovery from ACL surgery. It set up a blockbuster third fight, after Brooks had originally claimed the belt from Pacio in Manila in December 2022.
“I already talked to him backstage, we agreed that we would do a fourth fight,” Pacio told the Bangkok Post after the post-event press conference had wrapped up backstage.
“The Passion” admitted he anticipated even more instalments in a feud – and a friendship – that is starting to define both of their careers.
“I know he trains so hard for himself and his family, and I know the calibre of athlete he is,” Pacio told the media during the presser. “I respect him so much – when you watch him, he’s that bad guy in the movie. But honestly, no. He’s a good guy.”
Pacio had survived a first-round grappling onslaught and slipped multiple D’arce and guillotine attempts before Brooks, 31, seemed to tire – which opened the door for a shock that sent thousands of frenzied Filipinos into meltdown in the arena, and millions more watching back home no doubt.
“One critical error Jarred made – you can’t hold onto a submission for four minutes. I would know,” ONE’s chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, an avid jiu-jitsu practitioner who was awarded his black belt last year, said sitting alongside Pacio at the press conference.
“In the second round his arms were completely gassed and his cardio was done. But hats off to Joshua – there was definitely nobody, no expert in the world, who said Pacio was going to finish Jarred in the second round.”
Chatri was gushing in his praise for Pacio, whom he gleefully touted had “cemented his status as the No 1 strawwieght in the world, no question”.
For sure, ONE Championship finally has another bonafide superstar in the Philippines, for the first time since the heyday of Team Lakay’s dominance of the promotion, when the Baguio gym once boasted four world champs.
An acrimonious split with head coach Mark Sangiao surrounding purse percentages prompted the creation of Lions Nation, with most of Team Lakay’s stalwarts – and many young cubs – decamping to their own new base of operations in the same windy mountain town.
Their camaraderie is undeniable: Pacio and teammate Kevin Belingon both walked out to the same entrance music on Thursday. Pacio was also mobbed by his fellow Lions in the Circle after referee Mohamad Sulaiman stepped in with Brooks getting relentlessly battered against the cage, and their celebrations were deserved, having all played their part.
“Imagine Stephen Loman choking me every day in the gym, I’m used to it. I know the feeling,” Pacio added, when asked how he had escaped Brooks’ submissions.
“I’m confident In my training and preparation – every position, we studied it in camp. Everything Jarred would do to me, lots and lots of hours we drilled it. I was very confident wherever the fight would go – ground or stand-up.
“Honestly, the first hook I threw, it landed on his nose and I saw his eyes move – he was afraid. That first connection, I knew he was gonna take the fight to the ground. But in the second round I knew I’m gonna control him.
“I was ready to go a full five rounds. I was not looking for the finish – I was looking to dominate.”
With Lions Nation head coach Eduard Folayang well past the prime of his runs as ONE lightweight MMA champion,and Belingon’s time atop the bantamweight division also long gone, Pacio has quietly emerged as his nation’s greatest hope – a burden he happily takes on.
“The pressure is my friend,” Pacio, who first won the ONE strawweight title in 2018 aged 21, added with a smile. “You need to be friends with the pressure.
“Ten years in ONE, I didn’t expect it, I was 19 years old, now I’m 29, so I’m used to it. I’ve been through a lot with injuries like that. Now there’s just so much joy and happiness.”
