ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: NEW STRAWWEIGHT CHAMPION JOSHUA PACIO’S EXPECTED REMATCH WITH JARRED BROOKS OFF AFTER ACL INJURY

Filipino recently won the belt off the American but is now unlikely to be able to defend it until 2025
He reportedly suffered a knee injury while preparing for their title fight at ONE 166, when Brooks was disqualified

Newly crowned ONE Championship strawweight champion Joshua Pacio has torn his ACL and is set for surgery next month, according to reports in the Philippines.

The Filipino recently won the belt for the third time but it is now unlikely he will be able to defend it until 2025.

Pacio reportedly suffered a knee injury while preparing for his title fight with Jarred Brooks at ONE 166. He won that in unusual style, as the American slammed him on his head and was disqualified.

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There was some concern that Pacio might have suffered a serious neck injury as a result of this impact and the champion was diagnosed with a neck strain, which would normally keep a fighter out of action for a matter of weeks rather than months.

However, while getting his neck injury checked up, Pacio discovered that the damage to his knee was far worse than initially suspected.

On Wednesday, he acknowledged he was facing an extended spell on the sidelines, and in a post on Instagram wrote: "By God's Grace I'll be Back!"

It means that Brooks will have to wait for his deciding match with Pacio. He won the first fight by decision at ONE 164 and, in the rematch, celebrated wildly after knocking the Filipino unconscious with a slam just 56 seconds after the start.

However, the move was considered illegal: under ONE Championship rules, spiking an opponent head first into the canvass is not allowed, and that mistake cost the UFC veteran his title.

Pacio is unlikely to be stripped of his belt. A precedent was the case of Angela Lee, who was the reigning atomweight champion in 2020 when she announced her pregnancy and did not defend the title again until 2022.

The promotion, in other words, has historically been ready to wait for title holders to return. An atomweight Grand Prix was held in Lee's absence, with Thailand's Stamp Fairtex winning. She went on to challenge the returning Hawaiian at ONE: 'X' in 2022, but was submitted in the second round.

Brooks is ranked No 1 in the strawweight division and already holds a win over No 2-ranked Bokang Masunyane. The South African is coming off back-to-back wins and this would be the obvious fight to make if an interim title were to be introduced.

Also in the mix is No 3-ranked Gustavo Balart. The Cuban wrestler is on good form, and has won four in a row by decision and last lost a fight in 2019.

Pacio first won the strawweight title in 2018. He lost it and recaptured it again the following year, holding the belt until his first fight with Brooks which went the distance, with the American clearly getting the better of it.

When Brooks was disqualified at ONE 166, Pacio became the strawweight champion for the third time. There were no celebrations as the Filipino was being stretchered out of the cage as the decision was announced.

A third fight between Brooks and Pacio appeared inevitable in the aftermath of that incident. It could still happen but the Filipino faces a long road back with next month's surgery set to be followed by an extended period of rehabilitation.