“I’m tired of chasing one person” - Jarred Brooks wants to eventually put Joshua Pacio in his rear view mirror
Jarred Brooks hopes to move on from ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio following their inevitable trilogy fight.
In December 2022, Brooks made his dream come true by securing a unanimous decision win against Pacio for the strawweight MMA strap. On March 1, 'The Monkey God' faced Pacio in a rematch to potentially secure his first title defense.
Brooks looked good in the first minute at ONE 166: Qatar before tragedy struck. The American superstar accidentally slammed Pacio on his head, leading to the latter regaining the strawweight MMA throne due to a disqualification.
Brooks and 'The Passion' seem destined for a trilogy bout. During an interview with Sherdog, 'The Monkey God' was candid about eventually wanting to move on from Pacio and face other strawweight MMA contenders:
"I’m annoyed that the name has been in front of me for two years, and I’m tired of chasing one person."
Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio were expected to fight for a third time later this year. Unfortunately, the ONE strawweight MMA king suffered a torn ACL in training camp, likely postponing his return to early 2025.
Watch the fight-ending sequence of Brooks vs Pacio 2 below:
Jarred Brooks has business to take care of before fighting Joshua Pacio again
The ONE strawweight MMA division won't wait for Joshua Pacio. On August 2, Jarred Brooks and No. 3-ranked Gustavo Balart will battle in the ONE Fight Night 24 main event for the interim strawweight strap.
Heading into next Friday's event, Balart is riding a four-fight winning streak after a devastating 0-3 start to his promotional tenure. Meanwhile, Brooks' only MMA loss under the ONE banner was the previously mentioned disqualification, as he defeated his first four opponents to become an undisputed world champion.
ONE Fight Night 24 will take place inside the legendary combat sports venue of Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The upcoming event in Bangkok, Thailand, can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.