ONE Championship: Joshua Pacio 'conscious' following illegal spike in rematch vs Jarred Brooks

Joshua Pacio is now conscious after a bad fall that sparked the controversial ending to his match against Jarred Brooks. ONE Championship (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY--Fans of Joshua Pacio can heave a sigh of relief for now as the Filipino fighter is currently conscious following what was ruled as an illegal move during his rematch against Jarred Brooks for the ONE strawweight title at ONE 166 on Friday night at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.

In an update shared by ONE Championship just minutes past midnight on Saturday (Philippine Time), Pacio evaded a more dreadful outcome after Brooks slammed him to the floor head-first during the takedown that became the root of the controversial ending to their fight.

The said move is known in mixed martial arts as spiking, and ONE Championship rules such spike as illegal. Thus, Brooks was disqualified.

"Medics were quick to take him to a local medical facility with updates coming from Qatar stating that the proud Filipino striker is conscious," ONE said in its press release.

Pacio was awarded the championship, marking his sixth reign as the king of the 125-pound division.

However, a third installment of the heated rivalry between him and Brooks is expected to be set to finally put a closure.

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