Pacio ends Brooks, strawweight debate
The fight fandom and oddsmakers hardly gave Joshua Pacio an edge against Jarred Brooks in their ONE strawweight unification clash.
Pacio threw all that—and then some—out of the window on Friday morning (Manila time), when he stopped Brooks at the 4:22 mark of the second round, to become the undisputed champion in ONE 171 at Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.
“[I was] ready to go full five rounds. I [was] not looking for a finish. I [was] looking to dominate. Honestly, the first connection, the first hook that I drew, it landed on his nose, and I saw his eyes move,” Pacio recalled shortly after the triumph that gave an empathic resolution to the two fighters’ colorful rivalry.
“So in that connection, I knew that he was afraid, and he’s gonna take the fight to the ground—and that’s what he did. But in the second round, I knew I [was] gonna control him,” he added.
Pacio did just that in the moments leading up to the stoppage, pinning his nemesis onto the circle’s wires before unleashing a barrage of fists that seemed endless.
He also showed his much-improved defensive game, foiling Brooks’ D’Arce and guillotine chokes in the opening round.
“It’s just a release for me because there are a lot of people talking behind me, doubting me,” the ace from Baguio’s Lions Nation MMA said.
“I’ve been through a lot. It’s just a relief. There’s so much joy and happiness.”
With the win, Pacio improved to 23-4 (win-loss). He clinched a seventh title victory in his career along with a $50,000 (about P2.9 million) as a performance bonus.
But more importantly, he has emerged alone at the top, while putting away—convincingly—the very foe that has thoroughly challenged his reign since 2022.
“I think for sure, Joshua cemented his status as the No. 1 strawweight in the world. There’s no question about that. Yeah, so there’s no question. Yeah, that was an epic performance,” said founder and head honcho Chatri Sityodtong.
