Joshua Pacio reclaimed the ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship in his latest outing, but it wasn’t in the way anybody was expecting. Earlier those month at the ONE 166: Qatar event, “The Passion” challenged then-titleholder Jarred Brooks for divisional gold in a heated rematch of their battle at ONE 164 in December 2022.

Their rivalry looked to be picking up right where it left off as soon as the opening bell rang, with “The Monkey God” wasting no time trying to get on the Filipino fighter’s back to control the action.

Illegal slam turns victory into defeat for Joshua Pacio

Joshua Pacio fought back and attempted to lock in a kimura on Brooks. But the American grappler retaliated by lifting Pacio into the air for a slam. The challenger landed on his neck and head, and Brooks rained down punches, thinking the end was near.

Referee Herb Dean stepped in from there and waved off the action, and it looked to everyone, including the Mash Fight Team star, that the World Title was secured. But Brooks’ exhilaration switched to devastation in an instant when he was informed that he had hit Pacio with an illegal slam, leading to his disqualification.

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A few weeks removed from the event, “The Passion” shared what went down during the scary sequence of events. “I know that I was going to be taken down. Did you see that my arm was already positioned to defend my landing? I wasn’t expecting that the takedown was going to land that way. I was expecting it to go sideways, so I had a base so I wouldn’t land flat on my back. Because that was part of my game plan. Never land flat on your back because he will control you,” he said.

He further added “My arm was going to be based underneath so I can quickly stand up. Fortunately, my arm was there to absorb a bit of impact. But then it happened. I think I was semi-unconscious there. Because my feeling was I was standing up to fight, but I saw my body wasn’t responding. I think the one punch became like a CPR. That was where I gave in. The second punch, I managed to cover myself up.”

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Pacio is not in the mood for a blame game

Pacio was placed on a stretcher immediately after the match. While he was sore, he said he wanted to give a thumbs-up to the crowd, but couldn’t because he was strapped. Despite some critics disagreeing with how the World Title changed hands, Pacio defended the rules. He also made it clear that he doesn’t hold any ill will towards Brooks for what happened.

“They say that ONE Championship prioritizes the safety of the athletes. So, I agree with that because that really is dangerous,” he said. This is what I do believe. I don’t think this is Jarred Brooks’ fault because everything happens inside the Circle because we’re in a fight. I have nothing against Jarred Brooks. I just think it just happened. It can also be the case that what happened all boiled down to his muscle memory with him because he’s a wrestler. It happens.” Pacio said.

What’s your opinion on Their matchup? State your thoughts in the comments below.

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