Pacio, Brooks headed for ONE strawweight title rematch

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino mixed martial artist Joshua Pacio is set to get another shot at the ONE strawweight championship.

“The Passion” will be facing ONE strawweight titlist Jarred Brooks on March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena for ONE 166: Qatar.

This will be a rematch for the strawweight gold, as Pacio lost the same belt against Brooks via unanimous decision in their fight December last year.

Meanwhile, this is “The Monkey God” Brooks’ first world title defense.

Aside from the Pacio-Brooks bout, ONE 166: Qatar will also be headlined by a heavyweight fight between Iranian star Amir Aliakbari and Arjan Bhullar of India.

The event will also feature a clash between former ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling world title challengers Osamah Almarwai and Cleber Sousa.

According to ONE, they will host a Road to ONE submission grappling tournament during the fight week, “as part of grassroots efforts to develop martial arts talent in the region.”

Qatar’s finest men’s and women’s grapplers will compete for $100,000 contracts across multiple divisions.

The event is the first ever ONE card in Qatar.