After strutting into the Mall of Asia Arena as the self-proclaimed “heel” this past Saturday, Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks (20-2) captured the ONE strawweight world championship from Joshua “The Passion” Pacio (20-4) and won over the hearts of Filipinos in attendance.
Brooks’ performance against the local favorite in Manila, Philippines, left no questions as to who the best strawweight on the planet truly is.
Over the course of 25 minutes, the American MMA star dismantled Pacio, toppling the five-time champion with his expert wrestling prowess and dynamic striking combinations.
It was a career-best outing that kept Pacio guessing from bell to bell. When it came to the judges’ decision, though, no guessing was needed – Brooks took the unanimous call.
After capturing the ONE strawweight world title, an emotional Brooks explained the reasoning behind his trashtalk and shared his love for the home crowd.
“I have the utmost respect for Pacio,” he said in a post-fight interview with ONE Championship commentator Mitch Chilson.
“I had some choice words before the fight, but I have not met one bad Filipino person here. I really want to show my heart next time. I know I’ve been the heel these past few fights, but I want to show the people that I’m a good guy. I love the Filipino fans.”
Now that he has achieved his dream of becoming a world champion in his final bout of 2022, Brooks plans to carry that momentum into the new year.
While he looks forward to his first title defense in 2023, “The Monkey God” wants nothing more than to get into the ONE circle with fellow American and ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (24-4-1).
“I trust the matchmaking in ONE, they do a great job, but I would love to fight Demetrious Johnson,” Brooks said.
“That would be a dream come true for me. Demetrious, I have the utmost respect for you. You are the best ever. I would love to share the circle with you – lose or win.”
Brooks has looked up to “Mighty Mouse” ever since he was in high school, and he was over the moon when the MMA GOAT praised him earlier in 2022 and predicted that he would beat Pacio to become the ONE strawweight world champion.
Though “The Monkey God” would love to face his idol, it may not happen for quite some time. It was just confirmed that Johnson will meet rival Adriano Moraes in a world title trilogy bout at ONE Championship’s first live event in the United States – ONE on Prime Video 10 in Colorado – on May 5, 2023.
While Brooks waits for his chance at Johnson, he’ll be plenty busy defending his newly won belt.
