By:  | June 10, 2023 10:07 am

Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio will rematch. Commentator Mitch Chilson let the news slip while interviewing Mansur Malachiev after his win over Jeremy Miado at ONE Fight Night 11.

Malachiev made it clear he wanted a shot at Brooks and claimed the American had agreed to fight him during an interaction on social media. But Chilson poured cold water on the idea, informing the Russian that the champion would be rematching Pacio next.

Brooks beat Pacio by decision at ONE 164 last December. Neither man has fought since but the Filipino’s status as the former champion appears to have been enough to earn him an immediate rematch.

New camp

It will be Pacio’s first fight since leaving Team Lakay earlier this year. He has spent time training in the US and will have sharpened up his takedown defence while working at camps like Jackson Wink.

Wrestling is Brook’s bread and butter and has helped him win four fights out of four for ONE Championship. The American’s 20-2-0-1 record is all the more impressive when you take into consideration that one loss was a split decision to a Brazilian in Brazil, and the other came when he knocked himself out while slamming an opponent down.

He has looked unbeatable since signing for ONE Championship although Pacio did have his moments in their five round fight in Manila. Ultimately the Filipino spent too much time on his back and was unable to keep it standing long enough to use his trademark striking skills.

Next in line

With plenty of time to prepare for the rematch Pacio will have looked to fix those flaws, even if he has had to do so without the help of long term coach Mark Sangiao. He was part of a group that broke away from Team Lakay in order to train among themselves.

Other fighters to make the move alongside Pacio included Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Stephen Loman and Honorio Banario. There is sure to be a lot of scrutiny on him in his first fight since leaving Team Lakay.

For his part Brooks probably won’t be looking to make any changes to the training routine that has served him so well during his career to date. Having beaten Pacio once the American will be very confident of doing it again, and if he does Malachiev could well be next in line.