MANILA, Philippines, February 19 ------ It may be now or never for ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio. The Filipino mixed martial artist is bent on showing the world that he is better than rival Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks ahead of their title unification bout at ONE 171:Qatar on Thursday.
Pacio, who won the title last year via disqualification, said that he is dead-set on leaving everything inside the ring this time around. Brooks picked Pacio apart in their first matchup with tremendous boxing skills, with the former winning via unanimous decision. And in their highly anticipated rematch last year, Brooks was disqualified after spiking the Filipino on his head.
This time around, Pacio said that he will show no fear in the trilogy-capping match. “The thing that I want to show is a fighter who isn’t scared of what’s gonna happen in the ring,” he said. “A fighter who isn’t scared to get taken down. A fighter who isn’t scared to get put in a precarious position on the ground. I want to show that I know what to do now,” he added.
The 29-year-old fighter nicknmamed “Passion” said that during their first fight, he focused on defending himself and admitted that he got “stagnant” due to being “too worried about getting taken down.” “I was waiting for an opening, and that’s my error. That’s why he was able to land those clean shots. Credit to him because his footwork and movement really frustrated me,” he said.
But now, Pacio will be more focused on attacking and making Brooks “as uncomfortable as possible.” “I want to show I have answers, that I’m not just gonna rely on my takedown defense to stop him, but I can battle him on the ground, even on my back,” he said. “I want to show that he’s not just the one who’s a threat in wrestling. Maybe I’ll take him down, as well. Like [Demetrious Johnson], that ‘Mighty Mouse’ mentality,” he added.
Pacio-Brooks III will be the main event of ONE 171, which will be held at the Lusail Sports Arena. Jonathan Haggerty will defend his ONE bantamweight kickboxing world championship against Wei Rui in the co-main event of the evening. Meanwhile, Filipino Kevin Bellingon will take on Bibiano Fernandes in a bantamweight bout.
Source: philstar.com
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