ONE 164: Joshua Pacio ready for trash talking Jarred Brooks

Bengaluru, November 23: ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio is refusing to be drawn into a war of words and is ready for the trash talking Jarred Brooks in the main event of ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks.

The pair were first scheduled to meet earlier this year, but an injury to Brooks led to the bout being cancelled. The Filipino superstar will now finally defend his World Title against the fiery American star at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on December 3.

With the bout confirmed, "The Passion" says that the delay in getting his hands on the top-ranked strawweight contender will only make him better on fight night.

"I'm very, very excited. At last, it's finally happening. It was initially set on 3 June. Then I thought it would be moved to September. I was just keeping myself prepared - but I guess December it is," Pacio said.

"I think the bout being pushed back was a blessing in disguise, in a sense, because it gave me time to prepare more. With three weeks to go, I feel like I'm at 100 percent. I'm ready. Everything's ready. The goal has always been to complete a mixed martial artist, and I'm ready wherever this match goes."

ONE Championship announces full card for ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks

Brooks has been directing verbal barbs at Pacio since joining ONE last year. After every one of his three wins so far in the Circle, "The Monkey God" has made claims to the strawweight throne. But the divisional king is aware of his opponent's strategy and has chosen not to engage.

"I know what he's doing is just part of his psywar - mind games. But I respect him as an athlete. I know he respects me as an athlete too. I should be emotionless coming into this fight, because I know he wants me to be emotional. If I get too emotional, he might catch me with something," Pacio said.

Though he refuses to get into a verbal battle, Pacio is well aware of the war he'll be facing against the former US college wrestling star come December 3.

Brooks is on a perfect run in ONE and has looked supremely dominant throughout his tenure, but "The Passion" is ready to showcase his own depth to get the job done on the night.

"Of course his wrestling will give me problems, but I've trained for it. We're ready for it. But expect me to be a problem for him as well," he said.

"I have tools that I haven't shown yet. I know this is going to be a tough fight, and I'll be able to show the new things that I've learned through the years."

Source: Media Release