On Thursday, February 20, ONE Championship returns to Qatar at the Lusail Sports Arena for ONE 171. The lineup is sure to be stacked, and the first two matches were announced on Monday. World Championship bouts in kickboxing and MMA have been added to the lineup, with tickets going on sale.
The first of the title tilts will be a highly-anticipated trilogy match. Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks will settle their score for the undisputed ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship. The match comes a year after an unfortunate end to their rematch.
Brooks marched to the top of the division and defeated Pacio to become the division’s titleholder. At ONE 166, Pacio challenged to even the score. However, Brooks accidentally spiked Pacio on the mat, losing his title by disqualification.
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Since then, Pacio has been on the mend, and Brooks captured the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Title. Now fully healed, the Filipino superstar wants to unify the title to show he is the rightful king. Meanwhile, Brooks wants to erase the memory of the rematch and cement himself as the world’s top strawweight.
Later in the evening, ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Haggerty returns to defend the gold for the first time. The Brit will be pitted against China’s first-ever K-1 World Champion, Wei Rui. The showdown of elite strikers will thrill audiences of one of the best divisions in combat sports.
Haggerty won the vacant crown with a phenomenal performance against Fabricio Andrade in 2023. Although he lost his two-division champion status, “The General” is eager for a return showing against Wei. The Chinese talent hopes to bring the gold back home and stand alone atop the bantamweight kickboxing world.
ONE 171 airs live on Thursday, February 20. The event emanates from the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar. Early access tickets are available at visit.onefc.com/one171.
