SUMMARY
- Jarred Brooks will defend his ONE mma strawweight title this Friday.
- The bout against Joshua Pacio will take place at ONE 166: Qatar.
ONE 166: Qatar opponents Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio sparred verbally at the pre-fight press conference this week. The pair will renew hostilities in a blockbuster ONE Strawweight MMA World Title rematch at the Friday, March 1, event that takes place at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar.
Middleweight MMA World Title battle between divisional king Reinier de Ridder and two-weight ONE World Champ Anatoly Malykhin. Outspoken American star Brooks was in fine form again once he got his turn on the mic. The ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion is eager to remind the world why he is the best strawweight on the planet.
“People are underestimating my hunger and my goals in ONE Championship. Now, I’m here to show Joshua Pacio who is the best. I want to knock him out and I want to finish him. I’m going to finish him this time. It doesn’t matter at the end of the day. Filipino or not, I will make you guys love me – period,” he said.
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“I think I beat Joshua Pacio pretty definitely last time. I’m willing to do that again and again and again until Joshua Pacio’s name is completely out of the picture and I am the best strawweight ever. I am the GOAT of the strawweights.”
The pair previously clashed last year, with Brooks coming out on top by unanimous decision after five pulsating rounds of action.
Joshua Pacio eyes world title revenge in Jarred Brooks rematch
Joshua Pacio, on the other hand, is ready to right the wrongs against Jarred Brooks and reclaim the strawweight MMA strap. The Filipino star said that he feels like he has home court advantage with a huge contingent of his compatriots at the press conference.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m in Manila right now. There’s a lot of Filipinos. In every country that I compete in, there are a lot of Filipinos. You cannot remove Filipinos [anywhere]. In every country I go to, there are a lot of Filipinos supporting us. I am more motivated this time,” he said.
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“Being one of the athletes in ONE Championship makes me so proud that I belong to the greatest and largest martial arts organization in the world. Competing here, I believe God put me on this platform to inspire the next generation. If you have dreams, go chase them. The Filipinos expect that I will bring home the gold belt this Friday.”
The stacked ONE 166: Qatar card marks the promotion’s historic on-ground debut in Qatar and its first event in the Middle East since 2014.