ONE Championship: Chatri eyes Jarred Brooks vs Joshua Pacio title rematch for Tokyo
- Filipino former champ cements himself as top strawweight contender with win over Mansur Malachiev in Bangkok
- Brooks has long welcomed a rematch with ‘The Passion’, and tells the Post that he has been ready to fight ‘for six months’
Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio’s ONE Championship rematch could be headed to Tokyo.
The two strawweight mixed martial artists first met on Pacio’s home soil, in Manila, the Philippines. Brooks beat Pacio by unanimous decision to claim ONE’s strawweight MMA belt, but the fight was competitive enough that the American promptly offered his rival a rematch, provided Pacio was willing to make the flight to the United States.
There seemed to be a reasonable chance of that happening given ONE’s aggressive push into the American market, but according to the promotion’s chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, Brooks vs Pacio II could instead be part of ONE’s long awaited return to Japan.
“Most likely this year, but possibly Tokyo,” Chatri told the Post when asked where and when the rematch could occur.
ONE has not revealed the date for its return to Tokyo, but sources told the Post it could occur in late January, 2024.
If the Brooks-Pacio rematch occurs this year, it is possible it could be part of ONE’s debut in Qatar, which is slated for December.
One way or the other, the rematch now seems like a certainty.
