Jarred Brooks says Mark Sangiao invited him to train with Team Lakay in Baguio: “I might just take him up on that”
Newly crowned ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion 'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks of the United States and reigning strawweight MMA king Joshua 'The Passion' Pacio of the Philippines are once again on a collision course.
After winning the interim gold with a first-round rear-naked choke victory over Gustavo 'El Gladiador' Balart last weekend at ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on Prime Video, 'The Monkey God' can't wait to lock horns with Pacio anew to unify the ONE strawweight MMA world title.
That being said, Brooks wants to one-up Pacio and enlist a key ally in his training camp for that trilogy match.
Speaking to ONE Championship at the ONE Fight Night 24 post-fight interviews, Brooks revealed he had been invited to train with Team Lakay in Baguio City by none other than Mark Sangiao himself.
'The Monkey God' said:
"Yeah, I got to talk to Mark Sangiao [from Team Lakay], and I think that me and his relationship kind of kindled a little bit more to where, in that last fight with Joshua Pacio, I said that I was going to represent Team Lakay, and he was just like, hey, anytime you do want to come down to Baguio City and train, you're more than welcome. And I might just take him up on that in this past camp."
Pacio, was of course, a longtime member of Team Lakay before he left the group to join Eduard Folayang in establishing their own team, Lions Nation MMA.
But Brooks training with Team Lakay would give him a massive strategic edge in his eventual trilogy with Pacio.
Jarred Brooks admits he wants to put Joshua Pacio in the rear view mirror ASAP: "I'm tired of hearing the same name"
Jarred Brooks can't wait to face Joshua Pacio to unify the strawweight MMA gold, but 'The Monkey God' admits he's getting tired of taking on the Filipino.
He told ONE:
"I'm tired of hearing the same name. It's almost been three years of hearing [the name] Joshua Pacio. I'm glad that I got to go against Gustavo Balart this past time. So thank you ONE Championship for that."
ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart took place live from the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday, August 3rd. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action via replay on-demand on Amazon Prime Video.