Jarred Brooks wants Joshua Pacio trilogy in Philippines or the United States: “We’ll see what happens”
Jarred Brooks is eying either the United States or the Philippines for his inevitable trilogy fight against current ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio.
Brooks has shared the Circle with 'The Passion' on two separate occasions, the first coming at ONE 164 in Manilla. On that night, 'The Monkey God' scored a dominant unanimous decision victory to take home his first ONE world title.
More than a year later they would run it back at ONE 166 in Qatar. This time, Brooks would enter the fight as the defending champion. Unfortunately, he wouldn't leave with the belt.
Less than 60 seconds into the scrap, Brooks inadvertently spiked Pacio on the top of his head. Deemed an illegal maneuver by referee Herb Dean, Brooks was disqualified and Pacio was once again crowned the strawweight MMA champ.
Speaking with ABS-CBN ahead of his return to the Circle on Friday night, Jarred Brooks is already thinking about where his third meeting with 'The Passion' should go down.
"I got to come through and snatch that again. Might be in the Philippines or the United States, we'll see what happens," Brooks said.
Jarred Brooks has to get through Gustavo Balart if he wants a trilogy fight with Joshua Pacio
If 'The Monkey God' hopes to book a rubber match with Joshua Pacio, he'll first have to get through one of the strawweight division's most exciting contenders.
On Friday, August 2, Brooks will square off with streaking Cuban sensation Gustavo Balart—the winner leaving with the interim ONE strawweight MMA world title and a future date with Pacio.
'El Gladiador' goes into his first ONE world title opportunity sitting on a solid four-fight win streak which includes noteworthy wins against Ryuoto Sawada, Yosuke Saruta, Alex Silva, and fourth-ranked contender Hiroba Minowa in his last outing.
With all due respect to his prior opponents, Balart has never faced a fighter as dangerous as Jarred Brooks. But if the 4'8" fan favorite can pass his toughest test to date, he'll be one giant step closer to undisputed glory.
ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 24 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, August 2.