Joshua Pacio's rivalry with Jarred Brooks took various twists and turns. In their last fight, however, he made sure to come up with a conclusive finish, winning by technical knockout to take the lead in their head-to-head matchup, 2-1.
The emphatic win took place at ONE 171: Qatar back in February in their unification match for the strawweight MMA world title. 'The Passion' overcame early trouble in the contest to come back and fashion an impressive TKO victory by way of a ferocious ground and pound in the second round.
ONE Championship looked back at Joshua Pacio's dramatic comeback win in his trilogy showdown with Brooks by posting the full fight on YouTube, which now has over 300,000 views.
Check out the video below:
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Pacio and Brooks first met in December 2022 in Manila, where the American edged the Filipino standout by decision to become the new strawweight MMA world champion.
They had their rematch in March last year also in Qatar, with Brooks disqualified after executing an illegal spike in the opening minute of the showdown that saw Pacio hit the canvas head first. The move earned Brooks an automatic DQ and he was forced to surrender the strawweight belt to his opponent.
Looking to redeem himself and get back the ONE Championship strawweight belt, 'The Monkey God' took on Cuban Gustavo Balart in his next match for the interim belt as Pacio was sidelined by a knee injury. He convincingly won by way of submission (rear-naked choke) in the opening round, setting the stage for his trilogy with Pacio.
Joshua Pacio looks to become a double world champion at ONE 173
After dispatching Jarred Brooks in his last match and laying their rivalry to rest, Joshua Pacio is now looking to add another world title to the strawweight gold already in his possession in his next match.
The Lions Nation MMA representative will challenge Japanese Yuya Wakamatsu for his flyweight world title in the co-headlining match at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on Nov. 16. It is one of five world title matches featured in the stacked event happening at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Joshua Pacio expressed confidence in his push, believing his extensive experience in competing in world title matches gives him the advantage over Wakamatsu.
The 29-year-old fighter from Baguio City, Philippines, said:
"I've been fighting five-round fights since 2018. Wakamatsu has yet to compete in championship rounds. That's my biggest advantage if this fight reaches the championship rounds."Tickets for ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri are available via ePlus in Japan. The event is also live on pay-per-view exclusively at Live.ONEFC.com.
For more information on the marquee live on-ground show, follow Sportskeeda MMA and ONE Championship.
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Edited by Aziel Karthak

2 hours ago
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