Jarred Brooks’ feud with various fighters in the Philippines continues to simmer. The UFC veteran has taken to Twitter to declare himself steroid fee having apparently been accused of taking performance enhancing drugs by upcoming opponent Joshua Pacio.
We are not sure when or where Pacio made the comments in question. But Brooks decided to post a photo of himself as an eight year old to prove that his strength is ‘god given’:
This is me at 8years old. All these Philippine people saying I’m on steroids including one champion Joshua Pacio 😂 I have had the strength since I was 6years old thats god given. Freak off now. pic.twitter.com/5LMPix24wE
— Jarred Brooks (@The_monkeygod) July 14, 2022
Grudge match
The two strawweights were booked to face off at ONE 158 on June 3rd but Brooks withdrew from the fight after reportedly suffering an injury in training. Pacio holds the title while the challenger is currently the #1 ranked contender in the division after winning three ONE Championship fights in quick succession.
There is no love lost between Brooks and Team Lakay. He has already beaten Pacio’s training partner Lito Adiwang and there was a lot of trash talk in the build up to that fight.
Team Lakay representatives are renowned for being very respectful and not having too much to say for themselves. But Brooks seems to have really got under their skin and the fight with Pacio will definitely be a grudge match.
It doesn’t currently have a date and it is unclear whether Brooks is ready to return to training. But having basically cleared out the entire division the American is the only credible rival for Pacio’s crown at present, so the Filipino will probably just have to wait until his opponent is ready.
Joshua Pacio 🇵🇭 WENT OFF on Yosuke Saruta to close the book on their epic trilogy! #ONERevolution #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/JZSM2D1DxF
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 24, 2021
Frustrating wait
It has been a frustrating wait for Pacio who has not fought since September. He looked spectacular at ONE: ‘Revolution’ where he finished Yosuke Saruta in the opening round to extend his winning streak to four.
Brooks has got in three fights since then. As well as Adiwang he has beaten Hiroba Minowa and Bokang Masunyane with only the Japanese fighter managing to go the distance.
The American is clearly ready to resume his war of words with Pacio. It will be interesting to see find out whether he is ready to fight with both strawweights clearly eager for the opportunity to settle their well publicized differences inside the cage.
