Pacio credits hard training for ONE victory

ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio credited his rigorous training for his win over Jared Brooks of the United States in ONE 171: Qatar.

Pacio said sparring against Lions Nation MMA teammates allowed him to outsmart Brooks and eventually win the title.

The 29-year-old mixed martial artist delivered a second-round technical knockout over Brooks last February at the Lusail Sports Arena.

“The training we did was also intense. It’s all about simulation and situational sparring,” Pacio said.

“Everything that Jared Brooks did, they did to me during training. The people who did it to me were even stronger.”

“Stephen Loman, Danny Kingad, Jeremy Pacatiw and sometimes Kuya Edward (Folayang), who is heavier than me, were my sparring partners.”

This was the third time both Patacio and Brooks faced each other.

Brooks clinched the ONE strawweight title from Pacio in 2022 in ONE 164 at the Mall of Asia Arena via unanimous decision.

Pacio then beat Brooks for the strawweight title two years later in ONE 166 after the American fighter was disqualified after an illegal strike on the Filipino’s head.

With Brooks, known as “The Monkey God” remaining as the No. 1 contender in the strawweight division, Pacio is ready for another fight should they cross paths once more.

“Jared Brooks is still ranked at No.1. Maybe he will fight one or two more times before we fight again,” Pacio said.