By:  | August 26, 2022 1:45 pm

The time for talking might finally be over! The much discussed, once postponed strawweight title bout between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks finally has a date and a venue

The fight was supposed to headline ONE 158 in June but Brooks pulled out due to an undisclosed injury. The title match has been rescheduled and it will be taking place at the MOA Arena in Manila.

The card is set for December 3rd and Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao confirmed the strawweight title fight would feature on it:

Well travelled

Of course this is not the first time the two men have been schedule to face each other. Pacio (20-3) is the two time ONE Championship strawweight champion, he won the title for the second time in 2019 and has made three successful defences.

Brooks (19-2) has been facing some of the best strawweights and flyweights on the planet for the past six years. He is well travelled having fought for Pancrase, the UFC, Rizin and Bellator before signing with ONE Championship.

Brooks earned his title shot by beating three opponents in quick succession while constantly reiterating that he wanted to face the champion.

On the road.

He got his wish but ended up withdrawing due to injury. It means Pacio will have spent over a year sitting on the sidelines by the time the two men finally meet.

This will be ONE Championship’s first event in the Philippines since 2020. The promotion has been using Singapore to put on all its live shows with Covid-19 restrictions making it difficult to hold overseas events.

But that all seems set to change. ONE on Amazon 3 is penciled in for Tokyo in November while there are also rumours about fight cards being scheduled for Kuala Lumpur and even Zagreb.

Mixed blessing

The matchup was also confirmed by an official ONE Championship Twitter account although there was no mention of the venue. For Pacio the postponement must have been a mixed blessing.

The champion would have been extremely frustrated to be stuck on the sidelines for an additional six months. But the delay has given Pacio the opportunity to fight in front of the Filipino fans for the first time since 2020.

Brooks has been engaged in a war of words with Team Lakay ever since his fight with Lito Adiwang last year. The American is guaranteed to get a hostile reception and the atmosphere in the 20,000 capacity MOA Arena could be lively.

ONE 164, Manila, December 3rd
Joshua Pacio (c) vs. Jarred Brooks (For strawweight title)