Reigning ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio is raring to return to the Circle anew after witnessing Jarred Brooks' successful promotional debut against his teammate Lito Adiwang.
Pacio, who already settled the score against Japanese rival Yosuke Saruta in their trilogy last September, said he is ready to face anyone worthy in the strawweight division.
"I'm on top of the food chain so it's just natural that everyone’s going to call me out. Our job now is to stay ready and keep sharp to defend our position. We got our eyes on the top five contenders in this division and make no mistake about it, we are watching closely," said the 25-year-old Pacio, who holds an impressive 20-3 mixed martial arts record.
Likewise, Pacio welcomed Brooks in the strawweight division and lauded the American star for making a name of his own in ONE Championship by submitting Adiwang.
It would be recalled that Brooks, a former UFC fighter, challenged both Pacio and Hiroba Minowa after his win that easily propelled him at the No. 3 spot.
Adiwang in the process was booted out of the No. 5 seat for the second time.
Interestingly, Minowa, No. 4. also defeated Adiwang in a controversial split decision win in November last year.
"We've been and are working on sharpening our weapons. I can't wait to go back inside the Circle to face anyone who's worthy of and show everybody a constantly evolving Joshua Pacio," said Pacio. "I think Brooks is very good at hooking audiences to watch a fight plus he has skills and wide experience. For sure, his entry here in ONE raised the bar higher for the strawweights here.
"To Jarred Brooks, welcome to my division. But don't you ever think that we'll hand you the belt that easily," added the Igorot champion.