A screenshot of Philippines' Joshua Pacio after clinching the Strawweight MMA World Championship against USA’s Jarred Brooks at the ONE171:Qatar on February 20, 2025.
Doha: Joshua "The Passion" Pacio capped off the electrifying ONE 171: Qatar at the Lusail Sports Arena Thursday night, clinching the Strawweight MMA World Championship with a stunning technical knockout over America’s Jarred "The Monkey God" Brooks in the second round.
Despite Brooks dominating the opening round, Pacio showed incredible resilience, battling back in the closing moments. With the full support of his passionate Filipino fans, Pacio made a strong comeback in the second round, controlling the action. His relentless barrage of punches forced the referee to step in, declaring him the winner at 4 minutes 32 seconds.
"I am speechless. I’ve been through a lot this year. Thank you so much, Qatar. Thank you to all the kababayans for your support. The atmosphere is amazing, and that’s why I call Qatar home," Pacio said after being crowned champion.
The Lusail Sports Arena hosted a spectacular night, featuring 15 thrilling fights, leaving the crowd in awe.
In a high-octane evening of action, Jonathan “The General” Haggerty rose to the occasion by capturing the Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship, outpointing a tenacious Wei Rui via unanimous decision.
Pic: Mahmoud Elmazaty / The Peninsula
Welterweight MMA saw Roberto “Robocop” Soldic deliver a devastating first-round knockout against Dagi Arslanaliev at just 1:55, while Shamil Erdogan wasted no time in a Catchweight (210 LBS) MMA bout, stopping Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang by knockout in a mere 28 seconds.
Shamil “The Cobra” Gasanov proved his dominance at featherweight with a unanimous decision over Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen, and Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes edged out Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon via split decision in a tightly contested bantamweight clash.
Heavyweight Kirill Grishenko overwhelmed Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli with a TKO at 3:28 of the opening round, while in Bantamweight Muay Thai, Jake “The One” Peacock scored a third-round TKO against Shinji Suzuki. Ayaka “Zombie” Miura showcased her grappling prowess at atomweight by submitting Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat with a kneebar in the first round, and Kade Ruotolo locked in an arm-triangle choke to dispatch Nicolas “El Paisa” Vigna in a Catchweight (175 LBS) MMA contest.
On the lead card, Zayed Alkatheeri impressed in openweight submission grappling, securing a first-round armbar over Mohammad “The Spear” Aburumuh. Abdullo Khodzhaev notched a late TKO win against Wilian “Samurai” Poles in lightweight MMA, and Hussein Salem delivered a picture-perfect knockout at 2:25 of round one against Walter “The Snatch” Cogliandro to cap a memorable night of combat.
