ONE: Joshua Pacio’s recent win boosts rematch bid against Jarred Brooks

Joshua Pacio, left, and Jarred Brooks face off during the pre-fight press conference at Solaire Resort and Casino. The two headline ONE 164 on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena. Photo from ONE Championship

MANILA, Philippines—If anyone has a strong bid to fight for the ONE Strawweight Championship at the moment, it’s none other than Joshua Pacio.

Pacio, who’s in a high spot in the strawweight division, defeated Mansur Malachiev in ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov on Saturday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, via unanimous decision.

So when the idea of facing current champion Jarred Brooks came up after the victory, Pacio kept his thoughts short and sweet.

“If they give me Jarred Brooks, I’ll grab it,” said the Lions Nation MMA pioneer.

“Like what I’ve said, if they give me Bokang [Masunyane] or someone else in the top five, I’ll still grab it.”

The former strawweight king dropped his strap last year at the hands of Brooks but now a rematch is in consideration after his victory over the previously-undefeated Malachiev.

‘NOT IMPRESSED’

However, Pacio admitted that he wasn’t fully satisfied with his showing against Malachiev over the weekend.

He cited that his eagerness to knock out the Russian fighting machine cost him to keep up for three long rounds.

“Honestly, I’m not impressed with my performance right now. I need to go to the gym again and work harder. I was not relaxed, I was concentrating on throwing the power shots because I saw the damage and I was eager to throw those power shots, so it really got in my head that I had to finish him.”

“But that’s not how it was supposed to happen. I should have been more relaxed and threw my combinations more confidently.”