"He made me a better athlete" - Joshua Pacio certain rivalry with Jarred Brooks forced him to evolve

Joshua Pacio has had his fair share of rivals during his time in ONE Championship, but arguably, none have been as intense as his feud with Jarred Brooks.

The two top strawweights have a lot of respect for one another and the skills that they both bring to the table, but the competitors don't always see eye to eye.

Following the sudden end to their rematch at ONE 166: Qatar, this chapter of their careers isn't finished yet. While Brooks is a difficult opponent for 'The Passion', he is grateful to have a rival.

Through training to face Brooks on two occasions already, Joshua Pacio believes he has pushed himself further than before in order to prove himself as the best strawweight in the division.

At a media event in his home country of the Phillippines, he spoke about how coming up against 'The Monkey God' has only made him better.

"This was the best training camp I had because of him. He made me a better athlete, better MMA fighter in all aspects."

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Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks are two perfect rivals for each other

Every great world champion needs a great challenger in order to really push themselves while already being at the top of the sport, and Joshua Pacio finds that in Jarred Brooks.

What is sure to be a trilogy of fights between them will go down as a highly significant part of the history of the strawweight division.

When all is said and done, and they both look back at this part of their careers, from their first bout at ONE 164 to March 1 in Qatar, they will owe each other.

North American viewers who missed any of the action from ONE 166 can rewatch the entire event via the free on-demand replay on Prime Video.

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