JOSHUA “The Passion” Pacio advises that no one should look past reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks when the American wrestler transitions to submission grappling.
In fact, he believes it will be a mistake even for ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci to take Brooks lightly.
Brooks enters uncharted territory when he challenges the champ under grappling rules at ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on 5 August.
Musumeci has emerged as one of the faces of ONE’s submission grappling movement, which makes him the rightful favorite. But for Pacio, overlooking Brooks’ wrestling will be a big mistake.
“They’re competing under submission grappling, so we all know that this is Mikey’s playground. However, I have experienced firsthand how strong Jarred is,” Pacio said.
“I know he can pin you down heavily, and he can submit people as well, based on his wins which comprises various submissions.”
Pacio knows all about Brooks’ competitive nature, and with a solid wrestling base “The Monkey God” shouldn’t have a problem transitioning to pure jiu-jitsu.
In fact, the Filipino bared that Brooks has been hopping from one gym to another in order to polish his grappling.
“I know Jarred isn’t stopping when it comes to working on his jiu-jitsu. He told me backstage that he’s going to different gyms and training with various people, so I think that’s where his confidence comes from,” he said.
Pacio isn’t ready to call an upset for Brooks, but he expects a highly competitive matchup between Musumeci and his old rival. In fact, he sees Brooks pushing the pace early and making Musumeci uncomfortable from the get-go.
“This will be very good,” Pacio said. “I see Jarred trying to pin Mikey early. I know Jarred’s pin is so heavy and strong. Of course, Mikey’s on a different level altogether when it comes to jiu-jitsu. He’ll take everything home with him if he can, so I really don’t want to give my prediction on this one. I think it’s a toss up.”