Brooks, on the time, was the ONE Strawweight MMA world champion however a mistimed slam inside the primary two minutes of their conflict resulted in a disqualification, a stripped title – and Pacio having to be helped from the cage.
Whereas Pacio was lucky to flee critical harm after being spiked on the highest of his head by Brooks, it has been a hard knee harm that has stored him out of competitors – and this week’s bout might be his first since that day in March final yr.
On the flip aspect, American Brooks has stored himself busy. A primary spherical submission of Gustavo Balart handed him the interim strawweight title in Pacio’s absence. Then in December he determined to make a short lived transfer to flyweight to tackle Reece McLaren. A split-decision loss over 5 rounds was not the end result Brooks wished, however he definitely got here out of it with no credibility harm.
Now on the Lusail Sports activities Area in Qatar, the 2 will meet for a 3rd time – to lastly unify the strawweight class.
Pacio has made the stroll to the cage 17 instances in ONE Championship since debuting in 2016, and is a three-time strawweight champion. Each time he has suffered adversity in his profession, the 29-year-old has all the time returned stronger, and whereas he’s not coming off a loss – nearly a yr out of motion by way of harm will all the time go away some query marks.
For Brooks it is a day of redemption, for a title misplaced on a technicality, and the chance for him to reclaim what he believes to be rightfully his.
A conflict of kinds, and a conflict of personalities – that is the blockbuster major occasion the Qatar followers have been ready for.
You possibly can watch ONE 171: Qatar, which takes place on Thursday February twentieth at 5pm Mecca on the Lusail Sports activities Area in Qatar. For ticket info, click on right here. Alternatively, you may watch the occasion stay on BeIn Sports activities or at watch.onefc.com.