Trilogy talk was deferred between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks, who instead took a step into true brotherhood following their controversial finish at ONE 166: Qatar.
ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion
Joshua “The Passion” Pacio believes he could’ve done so much more in his previous fight against former king
Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks – but the fight ended unexpectedly.
Pacio took home the belt from his rival after Brooks was disqualified 56 seconds into their strawweight MMA world title showdown at ONE 166: Qatar this past Friday inside Lusail Sports Arena.
An inadvertent, yet illegal slam from Brooks saw Pacio go head-and-neck-first into the canvas, something that’s not allowed under ONE Championship’s global rule set.
[Related: ONE 166: Joshua Pacio reclaims strawweight world title after DQ win vs. Brooks]
The disqualification caused a lot of stir, with many feeling that Pacio shouldn’t have been crowned world champion.
But this isn’t the first time this has happened in ONE. Pacio’s teammate in former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion Kevin Belingon also lost his belt via disqualification years ago.
For the 28-year-old Pacio, though, rules have to be followed.
“I agree with it. ONE Championship prioritizes the safety of the athletes, and that’s a pretty dangerous move,” he said.
“But here’s what I’ll say – I wouldn’t blame Jarred Brooks for it. Everything happens quickly inside the Circle. It’s a fight, we react inside the Circle in real time, and I have nothing against Jarred Brooks,” he added.
“I look at it as muscle memory for him. He’s a wrestler, that’s his nature. So I don’t think he did that illegal move on purpose. It just happens.”
He also appreciated Brooks for showing real concern after the fight.
[Related: ONE 166: Joshua Pacio, Jarred Brooks share breakfast time after controversial finish to title rematch]
The next day, Brooks and Pacio had breakfast together alongside members of Lions Nation MMA, and the rivals got to know each other better.
The pair talked like two friends catching up and mentioned nothing about what’s to come in the future between the two.
“My respect for Jarred Brooks just got bigger. We didn’t even talk about the trilogy. He came up to me, gave me a hug. There were tears on his face, and he was telling me how glad he is that I’m okay. We didn’t even talk about how we should settle things in the Circle. We talked about life, and how he’s so blessed that he can’t wait to go home and see his family,” Pacio said.
“We didn’t talk about the trilogy, we didn’t talk about the next fight. That’s automatic. We will settle things in the future.”