ONE: Pacio reclaims strawweight crown after Brooks disqualification

ONE Championship fighter Joshua Pacio ahead of his match against Jarred Brooks in the ONE 166: Qatar. –HANDOUT PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Joshua Pacio got his ONE strawweight championship back in the most unexpected way.

Due to a disqualification, Jarred Brooks dropped the strap to Pacio in their rematch for ONE 166: Qatar at Lusail Sports Arena on Friday night.

Just 56 seconds into the much-anticipated rematch, then-champ Brooks slammed Pacio’s head into the mat after a takedown which left the Lions Nation MMA member disgruntled.

READ: More focused Joshua Pacio ready for Jarred Brooks rematch

Brooks continued with head strikes while Pacio was lying on the ground but referee Herb Dean stopped the bout. Though, it wasn’t to signal a successful title defense for the fighter known as the “Monkey God.”

Joshua Pacio reclaims the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title by disqualification due to an illegal spike by Jarred Brooks.

Tune in NOW to catch the rest of ONE 166: Qatar!

🔴 Live Now#ONE166: Qatar presented by @visitqatar@mediacityqa @ooredooqatar
🇶🇦 Watch live on beIN SPORTS… pic.twitter.com/a0gX8PkeRK

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 1, 2024

Instead, it was to officially disqualify the champion and hail Pacio as the new strawweight king after he was hit with an illegal MMA move (slamming a fighter onto his head).

The former Team Lakay standout was immediately attended to by medics and was declared conscious after the bout.

READ: Joshua Pacio gets rematch vs Jarred Brooks in ONE 166

Pacio was then rushed to the hospital, where the spent the night undergoing tests to check for brain and neck injuries, according to Lions MMA founder Eduard Folayang.

“Joshua “The Passion” Pacio is clear in his ct scan results according to the doctor who read the results, there is no fracture, brain damage and neck injuries,” Folayang’s post red.

Brooks says ‘not intentional’

All class from Jarred Brooks 🙏 Should these warriors run it back?#ONE166: Qatar presented by @visitqatar@mediacityqa @ooredooqatar
Watch the full ONE166: Qatar event replay on
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Prime 👉 https://t.co/ykAJQxXIM1
🇬🇧🇮🇪 Sky Sports
🌍 https://t.co/eBUfsOlZOd pic.twitter.com/kvuIGXvbJI

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 1, 2024

The young champion has since been released from the hospital and was seen hanging out with Brooks, who also apologized to Pacio in an Instagram post.

“My brother I am so happy to see you and give you a big hug!! Glad to see you’re happy and healthy !! Congrats champ !! Had a good conversation and breakfast with @lionsnationmma all great men !!” Brooks said.

“@joshuapacio wish nothing but the best for you brother I hope you’re okay I am sorry for letting down my family and the organization. I did not intentionally do anything . #andnew congratulations,” the American fighter said in a separate Instagram post.

Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks. –JARRED BROOKS INSTAGRAM

Jeremy Miado, though, had an unsuccessful outing against foe Keito Yamakita.

In the 4:04 mark of the opening round alone, Yamakita caught Miado with a brutal bulldog choke which forced the T-Rex MMA talent to tap out and lose to submission.

Miado’s loss on Friday night was his third straight defeat.