Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio. ONE CHAMPIONSHIP
MANILA, Philippines—Jarred Brooks didn’t mince his words when referring to ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio.
Brooks is currently the No. 2 contender for the Filipino’s belt behind the unbeaten Bokang Masunyane, but the former UFC veteran feels he’s already done enough to challenge for the world title.
“I don’t think he wants to fight me anytime really soon. I think he probably wants to fight me in like July or something like that. But he can take as much time as he wants to prepare, like I said, I think I can beat Joshua Pacio right now,” Brooks said.
The 28-year-old Brooks (18-2) has made his case as a legitimate contender for the crown following impressive wins over Pacio’s teammate Lito Adiwang and Japanese up-and-comer Hiroba Minowa.
“I’ve watched a lot of other opponents that have fought Joshua. He got Alex Silva, I think that he’s somebody that is a perfect portrayal of what I am, but he’s a little bit less,” Brooks said. “I think Josh has probably gotten a little bit better and he’s gonna be watching a lot of videos on me. But I think Joshua is deep down inside sh*tting himself.”
Pacio (20-3) has defended his belt thrice since winning it back from Yosuke Saruta in January 2019.
But Brooks, desperate for a title shot, believes he’s on different level from Pacio’s previous opponents.
“I think that Josh knows why he should be afraid. He’s never fought another person like me inside of the Circle. I know that Josh has been watching me ever since I beat Lito, and I think he’s been watching me ever since I was in the UFC. So yeah, I think he should be worried. My tool belt is a little bit heavier than his, for sure.”