Danny Kingad Favoring Joshua Pacio In Potential Rematch Against Jarred Brooks

The future of the ONE Championship strawweight division has seen a new face leading them in Jarred Brooks, but flyweight star Danny Kingad is not so sure about his chances if he rematches Joshua Pacio.

International Business Times sports editor and combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano recently spoke with Kingad and the Team Lakay stalwart believes Pacio deserves an immediate rematch after his compatriot and stablemate bowed to Brooks in their December 2022 matchup.

"For me, I'm more confident about Joshua's chances in an immediate rematch with Jarred Brooks. He can beat that guy, he's too small," Kingad jested.

"I even told him to aim his kicks at Brooks' face."

Before their matchup at ONE 164, mixed martial arts fans had already been seeing their fight as a complete 50-50 because of how Pacio's high-energy, strike-heavy style was evenly matched with Brooks' grind-it-out, wrestling-based way of fighting.

When the pair stepped into the cage, it was an instant classic in the eyes of many as they wore their hearts on their sleeve to go out and prove who actually deserved to hold the strawweight title.

But at the conclusion of the event, "The Monkey God" stifled most of Pacio's offense and successfully claimed the belt by unanimous decision.

"If I'm being honest, I really think Joshua could have easily beaten Jarred Brooks. I don't fully know what happened, whether it was their game plan or something else. When Joshua and I were training, I couldn't even take him down despite my best efforts," Kingad told Icasiano.

Kingad and Pacio's bond with one another goes way back as they made their ONE Championship debut at ONE: Global Rivals in April 2016 with each man claiming a TKO victory that night.

They would go on to have illustrious careers of their own as Pacio rose to the very top of his own division, while Kingad faced big names throughout his weight class like Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes–the latter being a world title fight in 2017.

Though Kingad would lose both fights, his stature within the division through his consistently strong performances against many up-and-comers at the time allowed him to remain the No. 3-ranked contender in the division.

Currently, "The Passion" is still licking his wounds from the devastating loss, but as fans of his young career would note, losses only give him the motivation to unlock a new level in his game and Kingad himself knows this all too well.

"The way I see it, I think Joshua would be an even scarier opponent for Jarred Brooks if they do have a rematch," Kingad warned.

Pacio is no stranger to the loss column as he has three losses to his name before ONE 164, with the most notable being against Yoshitaka Naito and Yosuke Saruta.

In only his third pro mixed martial arts (MMA) fight, Pacio was given the task of taking on a fearsome grappler in the form of Naito and was forced to tap out after a rear-naked choke in the third round.

Their rematch would take place in 2018 as Pacio revamped his game to beat Naito by unanimous decision and capture the strawweight crown.

His trilogy of bouts with Saruta cemented his star, dropping their first meeting in January 2019 by way of split decision loss.

However, Pacio would get his revenge with a head-kick knockout in the fourth round of their April 2019 rematch and then he flaunted a striking masterclass to gain a first-round TKO in the September 2021 rubber match.

While the most ardent of Team Lakay fans would want to see Pacio face Brooks again soon for the belt, "The Passion" is not rushing his return to the cage.

"Regarding his future, his just relaxing right now, I would say. He's really just trying to get his body back to normal," Kingad revealed about Pacio's current whereabouts.