Joshua Pacio Fights Back To Finish Jarred Brooks And Unify ONE Strawweight MMA World Title At ONE 171: Qatar
Joshua “The Passion” Pacio showed that his nickname is more than just a moniker as he produced a comeback for the ages to unify the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title at Lusail Sports Arena.
The Filipino superstar settled the score with longtime rival and interim titleholder Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks in the main event of ONE 171: Qatar, digging deep to score a second-round TKO in dramatic fashion on Thursday, February 20.
Following an anticlimactic second meeting last March at ONE 166: Qatar, something had to give in the trilogy fight. Brooks was all gas and no brakes in the opening round, landing a takedown and then unleashing a litany of submission attempts, but “The Passion” kept his cool to fight them off.
That’s where the American’s momentum capsized, allowing Pacio to completely turn the tide in the second stanza. The 29-year-old put Brooks on his back with ease and then unleashed a barrage of strikes that began to trouble his nemesis.
Those strikes seemed neverending from Pacio – and Brooks had nothing left to give. Ultimately, the heavy ground-and-pound forced a halt to proceedings at 4:22 of round two, leaving the fans in attendance stunned.
With his epic victory, the Lions Nation MMA representative improved to 23-4 overall, silenced his doubters, and settled the trilogy with a 2-1 scoreline – all while taking home a US$50,000 performance bonus.
The strawweight MMA division now has an undisputed king at the helm and a group of hungry contenders hoping to earn their shots. But Pacio looks better than ever and sent a powerful message to the division with his seventh World Title win in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
