By:  | December 12, 2022 6:22 pm

Joshua Pacio went the distance with Jarred Brooks last weekend at ONE 164. The Filipino ultimately came up short, dropping a decision to the American who took the win and the strawweight title.

It was a disappointing night for Pacio and this feeling is compounded by the knowledge that he could have done more,

“It was a close and very competitive fight, but I also admit that I became stagnant with my offense. I could have done better to secure the win,” admitted Pacio.

Positive outlook

Brooks is a wrestler and Pacio knew he would be looking to take the fight down. His team felt he would have an advantage in the striking exchanges but the frustration for the 26 year old is that he was not able to make the most of it,

“The game plan was to strike and to slow him down. In the early rounds I was landing some solid shots in the body together with my leg kicks. I was also able to defend him on the ground, but in the championship rounds, my combinations came up short. I became hesitant and just waited for him to move which I think cost me the match,” he said.

Brooks was able to take Pacio down at key moments in the fight and the Filipino could be forgiven for hesitancy in the face of this very real threat. While he clearly has some regrets the former champion is still maintaining a positive outlook,

“At the end of the day, all is well, and I would like to thank our almighty God because I didn’t get any serious injuries. The loss might be a bitter pill for me to take, but I am sure I will learn many things from it.”

No hurry

This is not the first time he has lost his title and he has been able to recapture it in the past. That is the goal for Pacio now and he knows exactly what he needs to work on,

“I never give up no matter what. I just need to keep training hard and improve some areas of my game. This time I’ll give extra time to increase the firepower of my offense, add more combinations and work on my setups. Eliminate those stagnant moments that were stopping me to unleash my full potential,” he said.

While the fight was competitive it was not particularly close with Pacio spending too much time on his back. It means an immediate rematch is unlikely to be on the table but the Filipino definitely wouldn’t turn it down,

“I’m not in a hurry to regain my crown but if they offer me the rematch, I’ll definitely going to take it 100%. But if not, I’ll just continue to level up my game.”

Working hard

It sounds like Pacio plans to continue working hard and believes he can come back stronger,

“I trained almost every day to improve. I’ll take this loss as a big lesson. I’m confident that I’ll come back stronger after this.”

As a champion Pacio barely averaged two fights a year. Now that he is a contender again there should be more opportunities and the former champion wants to stay active in 2023,

“I’m always ready to fight. I want to stay active and compete as much as I can this 2023. I will come back stronger no matter what. I guarantee that you will be seeing a different Joshua Pacio in my next outing and will do my best to put that belt again around my waist.”