Pacio set to defend ONE crown against Brooks

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipino Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) superstar Joshua Pacio is ready for one of his biggest title defenses in his storied ONE Fighting Championship career.

After pulling off a series of grueling title defenses, one of the prized fighters of the widely-renowned Team Lakay is up for the tough task of halting Jarred Brooks’ emergence in ONE FC.

The hard-hitting American fighter took the Asian MMA stage by storm after taking down Pacio’s teammate Lito Adiwang in his ONE FC debut last year.

Brooks was all over Adiwang from the get-go and displayed his full offensive arsenal after bullying the two-time Philippine National Wushu champion in the stand-up game in the first round.

Brooks then followed up his striking clinic with a clean ground game and shocked the whole world after scoring a submission victory over Adiwang.

Since earning his reputation as ONE FC’s giant slayer, Brooks quickly went off in the strawweight division and recorded two-straight victories during ONE: Only The Brave and ONE 156.

His convincing win over Koha Minowa was another display of offensive flexibility while Bokang Masunyane suffered the same fate as Adiwang via a rear-naked choke.

Meanwhile, Pacio also proved that he is one of the league’s top pound-for-pound fighters after avenging his loss against Yosuke Saruta.

After the win, Pacio would go on and dominate the strawweight division with three straight wins against Rene Catalan, Alex Silva, and a third match against Saruta.

“This is the biggest challenge of my career. We all know the caliber of Jarred Brooks. But fights like this one bring out the best in a fighter. This is where a martial artist like yours truly thrives and grows,” said Pacio.

Both fighters will square off in the ONE FC ring this coming December 3, 2022 in front of Pacio’s kababayans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Manila.