Jonathan Haggerty Vs. Wei Rui, Joshua Pacio Vs. Jarred Brooks III Confirmed For ONE 171: Qatar
A pair of must-see World Title showdowns have been added to ONE Championship’s return to the Middle East on Thursday, February 20, 2025.
At ONE 171: Qatar, ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty will defend his gold for the first time against top-ranked contender “Demon Blade” Wei Rui, who is riding a 21-bout winning streak.
In addition, reigning king Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and interim titleholder Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks will square off in a trilogy match to unify the ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship at Lusail Sports Arena.
Haggerty enjoyed a banner year in 2023, as he knocked out longtime divisional ruler Nong-O Hama to claim the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title and finished the division’s MMA king, Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade, to capture the vacant ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title, thus becoming a two-sport World Champion.
However, seven months following a captivating Muay Thai World Title defense, the Brit dropped the gold to Thai striking ace “The Kicking Machine” Superlek Kiatmoo9 in a highly anticipated rematch this past September. The loss also snapped his seven-bout winning streak.
Despite that, Haggerty is eager to bounce back and make a statement in his first-ever ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship defense.
But Wei brings tremendous momentum and experience into this battle.
After signing with ONE this past March, “Demon Blade” quickly proved why he is one of China’s greatest kickboxers. The southpaw ripped through former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Hiroki Akimoto in May, bringing his career record to a jaw-dropping 70-3.
Now, Wei – China’s first K-1 World Champion in history – is determined to extend his record, add to his marvelous run, and claim 26 pounds of gold in Qatar.
The global fan base will also see the latest chapter of the Pacio-Brooks rivalry.
Ever since Brooks joined the world’s largest martial arts organization in 2021, he has been calling out the Filipino kingpin. After three dominant promotional victories, he finally faced “The Passion” and defeated him via unanimous decision to claim the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title in December 2022.
But when the two rematched at ONE 166: Qatar this past March, the American inadvertently slammed Pacio on his head, an illegal maneuver that led to a disqualification and saw the belt awarded back to the Filipino star.
A torn ACL sidelined Pacio for the rest of the year, but now that he’s healed up, he is ready to step back into the Circle.
Brooks has remained busy since that disqualification loss.
In August, he defeated Gustavo “El Gladiador” Balart to capture the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Championship. “The Monkey God” would also receive a BJJ black belt from his coaches following the victory.
Then just days ago, he moved up a weight class to begin his run at two-division gold. The American pushed #4-ranked flyweight MMA contender Reece “Lightning” McLaren to the limit at ONE Fight Night 26, but he walked away with a narrow split-decision loss.
In February, he returns to the strawweight division where he looks to unify the belts and settle his unfinished business with Pacio.
Stay tuned to onefc.com for more news about ONE 171: Qatar.
