The ONE Championship strawweight division is beginning to heat up, and the inclusion of American Jarred Brooks only serves to deepen the waters for ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio.
Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks Looking to Lock Up in Future
And those two are certainly keeping a close eye on one another.
Brooks broke down the entire division with ONE. When remarking on the current titleholder, the American said, “I think he is a legitimate champion. He’s done his dues in the division. But yeah, I’m there to rip him apart and show everybody around the world that I’m the best in the world.”
“I love you, Josh, but I got to come in there and make my dues.”
It did not take the champion long to respond.
The Team Lakay standout has been a mainstay in the title picture since 2018 and began his second reign as king in April 2019. After two successful title defenses, Pacio understands that the entire division is coming for him.
“I respect Jarred Brooks, he’s a great athlete, and I think every athlete has [to pay his] dues. I got my eye on him,” Pacio told ONE.
“But right now, I’m more [focused] on who’s in the rankings, and I think Bokang Masunyane is a lot better than Jarred Brooks. I’m not at my peak yet, but I promise you when you get to face me in the future, I won’t be that easy.”
Masunyane, an undefeated marauder, also has Brooks’ attention.
The American has already classified “Little Giant” as his most formidable opponent in the division.
“I think that Bokang is somebody that I would love to train for, and it would make me train way harder to fight that guy because I know he’s small. He’s very hard to deal with, and he’s fast. He’s a world-class Greco-Roman wrestler,” said Brooks.
With Masunyane catching the champion’s eye and a possible trilogy bout against Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta looming, Pacio has his hands full against the ranked strawweights. And once Brooks makes his official debut inside the Circle, he could make a quick rise into the title picture himself.
First for Brooks, Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang, a teammate of Pacio’s.
It should be an electric first opponent for the American, and a win will help build a storyline to a possible Match of the Year style meeting between himself and the champion. The action-packed strawweight division is looking to have a strong finish to 2021.
And while both Brooks and Pacio have their own challenges in the near future, the possible, if not probably, meeting between the two is already entering the forefront of their minds.
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