ONE Strawweight MMA world champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio understands the need for an interim champion. After all, it’s going to take quite some time before he gets back in the ONE Championship ring.
So, in the meantime, his rival in former divisional king Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks and #3-ranked strawweight contender Gustavo “El Gladiador” Balart will dispute the interim crown at ONE Fight Night 24 on August 3 inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
While Pacio wants nothing more than to move past his controversial disqualification victory over Brooks last March, it just wasn’t meant to be for now, as he has to focus on healing up.
"You know how much I want to be back in there competing, but my physical condition prevents me from doing so,” he said.
“It is what it is. The division needs to move forward and determine the next contender, or in this case, the next interim champion."
No shortage of challengers
The good thing for the Filipino is that his absence won’t stall the progress.
Pacio believes that the strawweight division is one of the deepest, if not the deepest, weight classes in ONE Championship, home to a lot of potentially exciting fights, like this clash between Brooks and Balart.
There are also guys like #2-ranked Bokang Masunyane, red-hot Lito Adiwang, and recently victorious #4-ranked Hiroba Minowa all looking to scale the division once more.
"What I love about our division is that there's never a shortage of real title contenders,” he said.
“This will be evident in the upcoming matchup between Jarred Brooks and Gustavo Balart, where the top contender faces the next in line."
While Pacio believes Balart could pull off the upset on the American wrestling machine in Brooks, he expects Brooks to hurdle his foe to officially set up a trilogy match between the two of them.
"I can see where this is heading, so I'll be straightforward. I have unfinished business with Jarred Brooks, and I intend to settle it in the future,” Pacio said.
“If Gustavo Balart rises to the occasion, he's more than welcome."
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