ONE Championship will head to Qatar next March for ONE 166, and a strawweight title fight rematch is along for the ride.
That fight will see Jarred Brooks (20-2, 1NC) and Joshua Pacio (21-4) run it back, in a rematch of their December 2022 meeting at ONE 164. Their original showdown saw Brooks win a five-round unanimous decision to capture the ONE Championship strawweight title.
Brooks has not fought since, while Pacio returned to the win column against Mansur Malachiev. News of the booking was announced in a press release distributed on Monday.
Joshua Pacio is a multi-time ONE strawweight champ best known for his fights with Yoshitaka Naito and Yosuke Saruta. Fighting in ONE Championship since 2016, Pacio is 3-0 in rematches, defeating Naito once and Saruta twice after losing to both of them in their initial meetings.
Jarred Brooks, a former UFC flyweight standout, is undefeated since 2018 and won his final octagon outing. Despite the win, Brooks was released at a time where the promotion was considering scrapping the 125lb division.
“The Monkey God” has won all four of his bouts under the ONE Championship banner, with two submission victories in that stretch.
Also announced for ONE 164, former heavyweight champ Arjan Bhullar (11-2) will take on Amir Aliakbari (13-3). Bhullar, an Indo-Canadian who dropped his title to Anatoly Malykhin in his last outing, will look to bounce back agasint Aliakbari, winner of three straight.
A flyweight submission grappling match between Osamah Almarwai and Cleber Sousa has also been announced for ONE 166: Qatar, which takes place at the Lusail Sports Arena on March 1, 2024.
