ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong expects a finish in the main event of the promotion’s final card of the year.
ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and top-ranked contender Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks are set to tangle for all the marbles in the main event of ONE 164 on December 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
For Sityodtong, he doesn’t see this fight going the full five rounds as both men have shown that they can finish matches with their respective skill sets.
“I think it’s going to end in a finish. I see Pacio winning via KO early, or I see Jarred Brooks winning by TKO later. I think it’s going to be a classic striker-versus-grappler matchup,” Sityodtong said.
“Obviously Jarred Brooks, a highly decorated wrestler, he’s been using his wrestling to dominate everyone, but Joshua is a phenomenal athlete. He adapts very well.
“If you’ve seen his previous title defense against Yosuke Saruta, who’s also a phenomenal wrestler, he knocked him out. Joshua is dangerous everywhere.”
But Pacio’s not the only Filipino who’ll banner the card. Joining him are his compatriots in Brandon Vera, Danny Kingad, Geje Eustaquio, Jeremy Pacatiw, and Jenelyn Olsim, making this one of the biggest sporting events in the country since ONE started promoting shows in the Philippines 11 years ago.
“We’re going to bring the big guns from the Philippines, and it’s literally going to be Philippines versus the world. It’s going to be a very stacked card,” he said.
“Of course it’s a fascinating one, because it’s a double-header. You’re going to have a morning show live on Amazon Prime [in] America and a night show live around the world. So the Filipino fans are in for a massive treat. It’s an all day festival, all day fiesta, martial arts action that’s the very very best of the world.”
The evening card is just the second part of the day’s fight fest as ONE Fight Night 5 will take place on the morning of December 3 with ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion Reinier De Ridder defending his strap against ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion Anatoly Malykhin.
Also on the morning card will be the unification bout for the ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title between current queen Allycia Hellen Rodrigues and interim champ Janet Todd.
Tickets for ONE Fight Night 5 and ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks at the Mall of Asia Arena on 3 December are available at https://smtickets.com/events/view/11439.
Also, catch “Globe Presents ONE Warrior Series Philippines” every Sunday night on GTV, the ONE Super App, and watch.onefc.com. Weekly replays air on Tap Go, ONE Championship Philippines Facebook, and ONE Championship’s official YouTube channel.
