MANILA, Philippines – Former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks and newly crowned king Joshua “The Passion” Pacio have moved on from the controversial ending to their fight at ONE 166: Qatar earlier this month.
Now Brooks hopes that everyone else can do the same.
He was disqualified in the first round of the contest after slamming Pacio head and neck first into the canvas, resulting in an anticlimactic finish. Some local fans even criticized the American for the dangerous move.
The pair left the incident behind them after having breakfast the next morning, and Brooks is now ready to lick his wounds and get back on the saddle.
“I’ve had 42 fights and that has happened one time. I’ve definitely learned from that lesson. You’ve got to move on quick in life. That’s the big thing my mom and my dad have taught me. Obstacles will come in your way. I’ve had a pretty unlucky career as far as my losses go, and it’s pretty crazy,” he said.
“Every time, it’s God showing me that I need to be humble inside and outside. It’s a good learning experience, and learning from that makes me even stronger.”
The reason why it sparked so much controversy is because under some rule sets, the move would’ve been allowed and Brooks would’ve walked away with an easy TKO victory.
“The Monkey God” would’ve wanted that of course, but upon watching the replay he understood where ONE Championship was coming from by making that slam illegal.
“It would’ve been great to celebrate that win, but at the same time, watching the video, going back while they put it in slow motion, I can definitely see why ONE Championship does that (making spiking illegal),” he said.
“That’s okay man, I’m not biased to anything. If I lose, I understand. It’s something that I understand, I’m moving on from it.”
Now, Brooks’ ultimate focus is getting a trilogy match with Pacio.
“Anytime that I lose, it’s in twos. So you best know I’m coming for literally everything in ONE Championship now,” he said. – Rappler.com
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