Atomweight Contender Fully Supporting Joshua Pacio's Bid To Defend Title

ONE Championship surprised its fans in the Philippines after recently announcing that strawweight king Joshua Pacio will have his title defense against Jarred Brooks in Manila on December 3 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

While Pacio and his famed Team Lakay stablemates are ecstatic to have ONE Championship in the country, women's atomweight contender Denice Zamboanga is also sending her support.

Fans of the promotion are fully aware that Brooks will present Pacio with his toughest test to date in his young career, and Zamboanga agrees with this idea.

"This fight will surely be an amazing one. This will be an intense match for sure and this could be the biggest challenge for our world champion but, still, I'm rooting for him to win," she said in a recent interview.

Brooks has been nipping at the heels of the Filipino champion ever since he made his debut with ONE Championship in October 2021.

"The Monkey God" first took care of Pacio's teammate Lito Adiwang at ONE: NextGen 3 and then took Hiroba Minowa to his absolute limit to claim a unanimous decision victory in January of this year before ending Bokang Masunyane's championship aspirations via rear-naked choke at ONE 156 this past April.

The American has been on an absolute tear recently thanks to his new and improved striking game to complement his otherworldly wrestling abilities, which makes him such a threat to Pacio's reign.

Pacio, on the other hand, has been out of the cage since his trilogy victory over Yosuke Saruta at ONE: Revolution nearly a year ago in September 2021, but he has not stopped honing his craft.

After news broke out in May that Pacio's defense against Brooks was bumped off due to a reported "scheduling conflict," head coach Mark Sangiao was adamant that they will not make it an easy fight for Brooks.

"It motivates me even more because I'll be defending my world title in front of my countrymen," Pacio said.

Ensuring the title remains around his waist is Pacio's main goal and is hoping that Filipino fans will come out in droves to watch him defend it against Brooks in December.

Zamboanga shares in Pacio's excitement for ONE Championship's long-awaited return to the Philippines as it brings a sense of normalcy to her and the nation.

"I'm really excited that there will be another event in the Philippines, especially now that we're going back to how it was back then before the pandemic. I'm really happy that ONE Championship will be back in the country after more than two years," she stated.

ONE Championship is yet to announce an undercard for the December 3 event, but it is believed that the card will heavily feature the Philippines' best homegrown talents.