Joshua “The Passion” Pacio has nothing but kind words for the man that grabbed his ONE Strawweight World Title in the main event of ONE 164 last weekend. The Filipino fighter suffered his first defeat in almost four years at the hands of American sensation Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks in their main event matchup inside the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, on 3 December. 

As hefty as it was to speak after losing his crown, Pacio remains confident he would fare better if the pair ever run it back.

Joshua Pacio didn’t bow down to defeat and vowed to return as a better fighter

“We didn’t get the win last Saturday, but I thank God I learned a lot and saw what to improve more as an athlete,” the 26-year-old wrote on his Instagram. “What I love about this sport is it is a continuous learning and leveling up, and that’s what I aim to do. I’ll be back stronger, smarter, and more dangerous.”

Both men lived up to the hype of the bill, which began long before they were even scheduled to faceoff for the gold. As soon as Brooks inked a deal with ONE Championship in mid-2021, the Mash Fight Team representative was on Pacio’s tail.

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The American upstart continued to take digs at Pacio in the months that followed. “The Passion” remained respectful in his responses, but he consistently reminded “The Monkey God” who the real boss of the division was.

Joshua Pacio thanked Jared Brooks and believes God has better plans for him

Unfortunately for Pacio, he came out only second best to everything Brooks had in store for him when they eventually crossed paths. The Indiana native outclassed the Team Lakay standout in the striking and grappling department to extend his run at the promotion to 4-0, taking his overall record to 20-2-1.

Despite the loss, Pacio doesn’t seem intimidated by the threat the American fighter possesses. Instead, he views the new ONE Strawweight World Champion as an athlete who will help raise his stock and arsenal in the future.

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“To [Jarred Brooks] thank you for the experience, brother, and for making me level up again. Congratulations to you, and I’ll see you soon,” his post continued to read. “Every setback is a setup for a greater comeback! God has a better plan.”