ONE: Pacio says Brooks ‘the best opponent’ he’s ever faced

FILE–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—Iron sharpens iron and so far in his career over at ONE Championship, Joshua Pacio’s iron is undoubtedly Jarred Brooks.

Not too long ago after his second bout with Jarred Brooks that ended rather controversially, Pacio revealed that in his young MMA career nobody has pushed him to his limits more than the fighter known as “Monkey God” has.

“This is all I can say, in this training camp, this is the best camp I’m in because of him. He made me a better athlete and an MMA fighter physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally,” said the Lions Nation MMA standout.

READ: Joshua Pacio wants to end ‘unfinished business’ vs Jarred Brooks

“I can say that he’s the best opponent I’ve had in my career.”

Despite their second fight ending in a disqualification in favor of Pacio after he was illegally slammed on his head, the former Team Lakay member understood that Brooks had no intention of committing the match-ending violation.

Pacio revealed that Brooks’ mistake has been haunting the American wrestler since the bell rang and has continually apologized to the Filipino fighter for the mishap.

READ: Joshua Pacio wants to end Jarred Brooks saga definitively

“He didn’t mean it. He’s a natural wrestler so it was his instinct but he also knows the rules. When he reviewed the fight on his way back to the hotel, he really kept saying it wasn’t his intention,” said Pacio.

Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks. –JARRED BROOKS INSTAGRAM

The conclusion of ONE 166: Qatar brought forth the old enemies-to-friends trope between Pacio and Brooks.

For a solitary second, Pacio’s greatest enemy became his greatest friend and it all happened just hours after their second fight.

While Pacio was having breakfast in his hotel, an apologetic Brooks came over to his table for a conversation that turned out to be highly emotional.

“While I was eating [the morning after], we saw each other and he hugged me right away. In my mind, I thought, ‘oh, this guy might cry.’ Then, he did cry! That’s where I saw the real Jarred Brooks. People see him as a showman but he just needs to do those things. Whenever he does that [trash talk] to me, it’s even like an advantage for me because it will really sell fights.”

“For me, that’s when I saw the other side of Jarred. That was the real him. We didn’t even talk about the fight or a trilogy. We just talked about his life in the US and his training.”

But inside the octagon, two fighters can’t be friends and Pacio knows that to be true.

So while the Filipino striker takes his time recovering, he will be thinking about a third match that would serve as a rubber with both of them having one win over the other.

“As a MMA fighter, I didn’t like how I won but getting the belt again, I know I deserve it. Not just me, but also my team as a whole. We deserve it all after the years of hard work and it doesn’t stop here. I’ll prove it more in the trilogy.”