Jarred Brooks rooting for Joshua Pacio's bid for two-division glory

Former ONE strawweight world champion Jarred Brooks is backing his former rival Joshua Pacio to make history when he challenges Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE 173 on November 16 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Pacio, the reigning ONE strawweight king out of Lions Nation MMA, will attempt to become the first two-division MMA world champion from the Philippines on hostile territory. For Brooks, if anyone can pull it off, it is the man he once shared a storied trilogy with.

“I'm rooting for Pacio when he goes against Yuya Wakamatsu because I do think that he could beat him,” said Brooks.

“I still have the same perception of Josh. I think that he's a great champion. I think that he leads his people [well]. I think that to a young Filipino fan, Joshua Pacio was like Superman.”

Brooks knows Pacio better than most. Their rivalry began in 2022 when the American outpointed Pacio to win via unanimous decision at the Mall of Asia Arena. They ran it back two years later, with Brooks this time disqualified for an illegal slam.

The grudge match was finally settled last February in Qatar, where Pacio stopped Brooks in the second round to cement his reign at strawweight.

According to Brooks, Pacio’s biggest asset is his ability to adapt, which could be the key against Wakamatsu.

“Hats off to Josh, hats off to all of his team, acclimating and readjusting to whatever they needed to do to get that win,” Brooks said.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News