Joshua Pacio can now say he has a win over rival Jarred Brooks free of controversy.
The 125-pound ONE champ scored an upset win in his trilogy fight against Brooks on Thursday night, rallying back after a tough opening frame to score a second-round finish due to punches.
Pacio’s performance came in front of a supportive crowd inside the Lusail Sports Arena in the main event of ONE 171, closing out the promotion’s second-ever trip to Lusail, Qatar.
Brooks, who entered this week with the goal of regaining the 125-pound ONE MMA belt, looked on track to achieving that goal through five minutes. The ex-UFC fighter had a dominant opening round against Pacio, getting him to the ground within moments and forcing the Filipino champ to fend off a guillotine choke for a few minutes.
However, the tide of the bout shifted dramatically once the second round started. Brooks lost control of the fight on the mat, with Pacio instead taking over. After a quick striking exchange, Brooks seemingly fell to the mat due to a slip early in the second frame. Capitalizing on this moment, Pacio followed him to the ground and took full guard on top.
Pacio chipped away at Brooks with short strikes from a top position, not being able to wind up with larger shots due to Brooks’ arms holding his head down. However, Pacio was able to finally posture up with just over a minute to go in the round, allowing him to connect with harder punches.
Pacio wailed away with clean hammerfist punches against a shelled-up Brooks, making it clear that he was nearing a finish. While Brooks moving up to his knees delayed a stoppage of the fight—as the American was working to escape the position—Pacio continued to throw a fast pace of shots, eventually making the referee step in.
“I’m speechless,” Pacio said in his post-fight interview. “But really, I’ve been through a lot this year. People doubted me. But I tell you, never doubt the living God I serve.”
The stoppage result was an upset, according to oddsmakers who saw Pacio as the moderate underdog heading into the bout. Due to the pair’s past two appearances, many expected Brooks to be the favorite despite entering as the challenger.
Brooks ended Pacio’s second reign with the title back in late 2022, going five rounds against him to take a unanimous decision victory. Then, in their second meeting last year, Brooks shockingly dropped the title to Pacio due to an illegal slam knockout disqualifying him from the fight in just 56 seconds. The bout was his first-ever defeat since entering the promotion in 2021.
Thursday’s outcome, while Pacio’s second win against Brooks, was the first time he overcame him as a result of his own doing. Despite being up two-fights-to-one in their rivalry, Pacio mentioned afterward that he sees another meeting with Brooks in his future.
“This is not the end. This is just the beginning,” he said.
Pacio also thanked the Lusail crowd for their support, noting that Filipinos who live in the country had come out to watch him fight. Qatar, a country which relies heavily on migrant workers, is estimated to have 230,000 Filipino residents.
Earlier in the evening, Jonathan Haggerty defended his 145-pound kickboxing title with a competitive five-round fight against Wei Rui. The bout put Haggerty back into the win column after losing a Muay Thai fight in 49 seconds against Superlek Kiatmoo9 last September.
Here are the quick results for ONE 171:
Main Card (10:00AM EST / 6:00PM AST) (Youtube)
Bout 13: Joshua Pacio def. Jarred Brooks via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:22) (ONE MMA Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
Bout 12: Jonathan Haggerty def. Wei Rui via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Kickboxing Bantamweight Championship) (145 lbs)
Bout 11: Roberto Soldic def. Dagi Arslanaliev via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:55)
Bout 10: Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:28)
Bout 9: Shamil Gasanov def. Martin Nguyen via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Bibiano Fernandes def. Kevin Belingon via Decision, Split
Bout 7: Kirill Grishenko def. Mauro Cerilli via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:28)
Bout 6: Jake Peacock def. Shinji Suzuki via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:29) (Muay Thai)
Bout 5: Ayaka Miura def. Ritu Phogat via Submission, Kneebar (RD 1, 2:24)
Bout 4: Kade Ruotolo def. Nicolas Vigna via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 1, 3:04)
Lead Card (9:00AM EST / 5:00PM AST)
Bout 3: Zayed Alkatheeri def. Mohammad Aburumuh via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 2:21) (Grappling)
Bout 2: Abdullo Khodzhaev def. Wilian Poles via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:56)
Bout 1: Hussein Salem def. Walter Cogliandro via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:25)
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