ONE Championship

Team Lakay stars, Pacio-Brooks title fight highlight ONE return to PH

JR Isaga

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Team Lakay stars, Pacio-Brooks title fight highlight ONE return to PH

CHALLENGE. Jarred Brooks (left) calls out strawweight champion Joshua Pacio.

ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

Multiple Team Lakay stars take center stage in ONE Championship's return to the Philippines on December 3 – headlined by Joshua Pacio's strawweight title defense against Jarred Brooks

MANILA, Philippines – Iconic fighting stable Team Lakay will be the central showpiece for ONE Championship’s return to the Philippines as the promotion stacks up the December 3 fight card at the Mall of Asia Arena with multiple Filipino standouts.

Headlining the loaded card is reigning ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio, who is set to defend his title against the brash Jarred Brooks after months of postponements and back-and-forth trash talk.

However, the 26-year-old Baguio native revealed in an online press conference last Thursday, October 27, that he is done trading verbal jabs and is very much looking forward to exchanging the physical kind against the 29-year-old American.

“I’ve lost excitement with his trash talking. I just want to return to the ring and showcase a Joshua Pacio you haven’t seen,” he said in Filipino. “I’m really excited for that and I’m getting goosebumps.”

“Coming to this fight, I’m trying not to be emotional and I’ll just bring my fighting spirit and knowledge from training. I’m going to win.”

Former flyweight champion Geje Eustaquio will also make his in-ring return after a two-year hiatus against China’s Hu Yong, while Jeremy Pacatiw is looking for a bounce-back showing against Myanmar’s Tial Thang after losing to Fabricio Andrade last February.

Filipina fighters will also be represented in the card as Jenelyn Olsim faces off against Chinese MMA veteran Meng Bo.

One of the event’s top Filipino attractions, however, is in danger of being reduced to a mere spectator as Danny Kingad’s Indian-Canadian opponent Gurdarshan Mangat reportedly suffered a training injury and has begged off with only a month away.

More Filipino fighters and other ONE Championship stars may still make an appearance as the full card has yet to be revealed. – Rappler.com

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