ONE Championship has big plans for the trilogy between ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio and former titleholder Jarred Brooks. The pair are 1-1 so far, with their most recent fight ending in a controversial disqualification for Brooks after the American accidentally spiked Pacio on his head during a takedown.
In their first fight, Brooks emerged victorious by unanimous decision following a pulsating five-round battle in December 2022. Pacio walked out of ONE 166: Qatar with the 26-pound gold belt in March, but Brooks told Sportskeeda that he is ready to take it back to home soil.
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“It’s nothing but respect at the end of the day, but in my personal opinion, that’s my belt. If they want to run it back in the U.S. in November, let’s do it,” he said.
ONE has announced that four-more shows will take place in the United States over the next 12 months, beginning with ONE 168: Denver in September followed by ONE 170 in Atlanta. But ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong appears to have other plans for Brooks vs. Pacio III.
Chatri Sityodtong names the Philippines as potential Jarred Brooks-Joshua Pacio III host
Chatri Sityodtong has nominated Joshua Pacio’s native Philippines as the possible landing spot for his trilogy showdown against Jarred Brooks. Sityodtong told Sportskeeda that the highly anticipated ONE Strawweight MMA World Title decider would be a massive event on Filipino soil.
“When Joshua is ready to go, we could pack Mall of Asia Arena in a big way. The whole country would be watching that fight because of the history between Jarred and Joshua,” he said.
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ONE has hosted numerous events at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila over the past decade, proving that the Philippines is a strong market. With a large contingent of top fighters hailing from the Southeast Asian nation, there is always scope for a return to the venue.
Host nations aside, Pacio is still recovering from a neck injury that he suffered in the unfortunate ending of his most recent battle with Brooks and an ACL tear he had prior to that. As no timeline for his return has been revealed, the 28-year-old’s fitness is the domino that must fall before plans for a fight can go ahead.