“It’s hard for me to grasp what happened” – Jarred Brooks still coming to terms with losing world title via disqualification
At ONE 166: Qatar earlier this month, the much-anticipated bout between Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio for the ONE strawweight MMA world title ended in the worst way possible: a disqualification. With barely a minute into the contest, 'The Monkey God' botched a slam that ended up spiking 'The Passion' directly on his head.
As per the Global Mixed Martial Arts Rule Set that ONE abides with, dropping your opponent directly on his head, neck, or spine is illegal. It can result in a disqualification, depending on the severity of the damage.
The erroneous move, though purely accidental, resulted in referee Herb Dean declaring Jarred Brooks disqualified, which in turn made Joshua Pacio the new world champion.
With these kinds of results, neither side wins. In an interview with The MMA Superfan on YouTube, Brooks addressed the result and what he feels about it:
"Inside and outside of life, so it's a good learning experience. Learning from that just makes me even stronger. Super happy that Joshua [Pacio] is okay, and that he's potentially ready to move on quick. Hopefully, we get this rematch down, and I appreciate him doing that. It's probably really hard for him and his team to grasp what happened. It's hard for me and my team to grasp what happened. Crazy on each side."
Watch the full interview here:
ONE 166 wasn't the first time Jarred Brooks lost via slam
It seems Brooks isn't very lucky when it comes to slams. Aside from his slam DQ loss to Joshua Pacio at ONE 166, 'The Monkey God' also lost via the flashy takedown years before. It may not be in the way you'd expect, however.
Back in 2018, Jarred Brooks faced Jose Torres in the UFC. In the second round, 'The Monkey God' picked Torres up and braced to slam him on the mat. Torres sand-bagged on top, and Brooks decided to slam him backward instead of rotating him sideways.
This resulted in the American wrestler slamming the back of his head in the process, knocking him out. It was a spur-of-the-moment mistake that cost the future world champion gravely. We are sure he learned from this mistake.
Perhaps the former ONE strawweight MMA world champion will avoid slams in a possible Pacio trilogy? We just need to stay tuned to find out.