Jarred Brooks believes Manila would be the perfect stage for Joshua Pacio rubber match: “I love the Philippines”
Jarred Brooks is more than willing to go into enemy territory for his inevitable rubber match with Joshua Pacio.
In March, 'The Monkey God' surrendered the undisputed strawweight MMA world title to Pacio following a devastating DQ loss in the opening minute of their ONE 166 clash in Qatar.
Five months later, Brooks was once again crowned a world champion, defeating Gustavo Balart in the ONE Fight Night 24 headliner to take home the interim strawweight MMA strap.
The win has guaranteed Brooks an opportunity to unify his interim belt with Pacio in one of the most anticipated trilogy fights in ONE Championship history. When and where the fight happens remains to be seen, but Brooks is more than willing to run it back for a third and final time in Pacio's home country.
"If I can go back to his home country [for the trilogy], and I love Manila, I love the Philippines," Brooks said during the ONE Fight Night 24 post-fight press conference.
"All those people are huge fans of mixed martial arts, so going over there and being around that fan base, around that energy again, that would mean the world to me," he added.
Jarred Brooks looking for redemption following DQ loss in Qatar
Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio first met in Manila at ONE 164. On that night, 'The Monkey God' delivered a dominant five-round performance to take the strawweight MMA crown via a decisive unanimous decision.
15 months later, they'd meet again when ONE Championship made its critically acclaimed debut in Qatar. This time, Brooks would see himself stripped of the strawweight strap after inadvertently spiking Pacio on the top of his head during an opening-minute takedown attempt.
Who comes out on top when two of the absolute best 125'ers in the world put their respective titles on the line on martial arts' biggest global stage?
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE Fight Night 24 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.