Filipino MMA fighter Joshua Pacio reclaimed the undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world championship with a dominant second-round TKO victory over Jarred Brooks in the third faceoff at ONE 171: Qatar.
Filipino fighter Joshua Pacio delivered a statement victory over Jarred Brooks, securing a second-round technical knockout in the main event of ONE 171: Qatar early Friday morning (Manila time).
With the win, Pacio was officially crowned the undisputed ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion, completing his trilogy with Brooks in emphatic fashion.
The much-anticipated title unification bout saw both fighters enter with something to prove.
Their second encounter had ended in an anticlimactic disqualification win for Pacio, making this third meeting a decisive clash.
Brooks came out aggressive in the opening round, quickly securing a takedown and controlling the fight on the ground.
The American attempted multiple submission holds, including a guillotine choke in the final minute of the first round, but Pacio managed to escape and land crucial ground-and-pound strikes.
In the second round, Pacio wasted no time turning the tide in his favor. After connecting with a powerful right hook, he took the fight to the ground and unleashed a relentless barrage of body shots and head strikes.
Smelling blood, the Baguio-born fighter poured on the pressure as Brooks struggled to defend himself. With 4:22 left in the round, referee Mohamad Sulaiman had seen enough and stopped the contest, declaring Pacio the winner by TKO.
Overcome with emotion after reclaiming his belt, Pacio collapsed to the canvas in celebration. Brooks, in a show of sportsmanship, raised the Filipino’s hand in acknowledgment of his performance.
"I just want to tell you, God blessed me with the right people. My team, Lions Nation MMA. My family, my church. Qatar, you are wonderful. The Filipino kababayans here, thank you very much. Bring me back here again," Pacio said.
His dominant performance also earned him a $50,000 performance bonus, adding another reward to his triumphant night.
Despite his clear-cut victory, Pacio expressed his openness to another clash with Brooks.
"Honestly, I'm ready to go full five rounds with Jarred. But I know there's something wrong with him and in the future we're gonna do it again. So this is not the end. This is just the beginning," said Pacio.
“This is not the end, this is only the beginning. This is the new season for Lions Nation MMA and for The Passion.”
[ALSO READ: Joshua Pacio marvels at how far ONE Championship's strawweight division has come]
The night also saw several high-profile matchups across different divisions:
Jonathan Haggerty successfully defended his ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship against Wei Rui.
Roberto Soldic knocked out Dagi Arslanaliev in their welterweight bout.
Shamil Erdogan stopped Aung La N Sang in a catchweight contest.
Shamil Gasanov earned a unanimous decision win over Martin Nguyen in their featherweight matchup.
Filipino veteran Kevin Belingon suffered a split decision loss to longtime rival Bibiano Fernandes.