Jarred Brooks shouts out Joshua Pacio’s fans in the Philippines: “I know that they love me deep down inside”
Jarred Brooks believes Filipino fight fans have some love for him as well despite his continuing rivalry with Joshua Pacio, and he made sure to give them a shoutout following his latest victory.
'The Monkey God' claimed the interim strawweight world title at ONE Fight Night 24 on Prime Video on Aug. 2 in Thailand after he forced Cuban fighter Gustavo Balart into submission by way of a rear-naked choke late in the opening round.
The win was a redemption for Brooks, who lost his standing as the undisputed world champion in the strawweight division to Pacio in their title rematch in March in Qatar. He lost by disqualification after he executed an illegal slam in the opening round that saw 'The Passion' hit the canvas head first, leaving him with no choice but to give up the belt to his opponent.
Following his victory at ONE Fight Night 24, Jarred Brooks touched on various topics, including his "love-hate" relationship with Filipino fans.
He said:
"But yeah, the Filipino fans, thank you so much. You guys are my 'kuyas' to the end, bro, and even though I'm going against one of your fellow kuyas, maybe we can keep that at 50-50, where you guys love me just as much as you love him because I love Manila. I love the Philippines.
"Every one of those guys over there treated me with nothing but dignity and respect, and even though they booed me, I know that they love me deep down inside."
Jarred Brooks and Pacio have met twice for the ONE strawweight world title. The first was in December 2022 in Manila, where the American fighter dethroned the hometown bet with a unanimous decision victory. The second was the March fight that ended in a Brooks DQ.
Jarred Brooks says trilogy fight against Joshua Pacio has to happen
While happy to have claimed the interim strawweight belt at ONE Fight Night 24 on Aug. 2 in Thailand, Jarred Brooks said becoming the undisputed king in the division once again in a unification fight against Joshua Pacio will feel way better.
The 31-year-old American fighter earned the right to challenge reigning divisional champion Pacio in a unification fight with his recent impressive submission victory over Gustavo Balart of Cuba at ONE Fight Night 24.
In the post-fight interview following his win over Balart, Brooks opened up about how he is looking forward to facing Pacio in a trilogy title fight next, saying:
"It [win over Balart] means a lot, but it's gonna feel way better when I get to go against Joshua Pacio and unify the world championship and take that away from him twice in Manila."
If a trilogy fight has to happen between Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio, the former has to wait for some time. The Filipino champion is out indefinitely after sustaining an ACL injury even before he took on Brooks in their last enounter.