WATCH: “Not trynna turn cripple over this” – ONE Championship fighter’s BIZARRE disqualification for slamming opponent on head triggers fans

Jarred Brooks faced disqualification at ONE 166 after illegal throw against rival Joshua Pacio.

WATCH: “Not trynna turn cripple over this” – ONE Championship fighter’s BIZARRE disqualification for slamming opponent on head triggers fans

Jarred Brooks gets disqualified at ONE 166 for an illegal throw against Joshua Pacio (via One Championship/X)

ONE Championship is known for its diverse fights. ONE 166 event saw a highly anticipated event in the combat sports world. Anatoly Malykhin took on Reinier de Ridder for the chance to become the 3-division world champion.  The rematch between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks was also highly anticipated. Jarred Brooks was, however, disqualified for an illegal slam. He lost his belt to Pacio in under a minute.

Brooks had won the title from Pacio in December 2022. Their rivalry demanded an immediate rematch as Pacio was the former champion and the number 1 contender. Pacio landed a low kick to start. Brooks quickly wrapped him up in a body lock. He also locked up a standing leg triangle choke briefly. The submission did not come, and Brooks changed tactics.

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Brooks scooped up Pacio and violently slammed him down after Pacio had a kimura almost locked in. However, Pacio’s head struck the canvas on impact. This rendered him unable to continue fighting. ONE rules explicitly ban any slams onto the head, neck, or spine. So Brooks was immediately disqualified for the illegal technique. The official time was just 56 seconds into round one.

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Pacio was awarded the strawweight title by disqualification. This tied their series 1-1. So, fight fans should expect the rivalry to continue with a trilogy bout. Pacio bizarrely regained the belt thanks to Brooks’ fight-ending error. 

Fight fans reacted to Jarred Brooks’ disqualification at ONE 166

MMA fans reacted strongly to Jarred Brooks’ controversial disqualification at the ONE 166 event. The event saw another disqualification in the match between Arjan Bhullar and Amir Aliakbari. Brooks lost his strawweight title by slamming Joshua Pacio illegally on the head. 

Fight fans reacted to Jarred Brooks disqualification
Fight fans reacted to Jarred Brooks’s disqualification (via ONE Championship)

Fight fans took to social media to express their reactions to this disqualification. Some fans defended Brooks’ throw as legal. Some fight fans acknowledged Pacio appeared injured on the landing. Many agreed with the referee’s call, even if the exact ruling was unpopular. Here are some of the reactions from fight fans:

https://twitter.com/pjwitdahands/status/1763611419562705363?t=t5GaNpkwdlGrMIuLRcrTbQ&s=19
https://twitter.com/yunghatelove/status/1763621877694529982
https://twitter.com/DEYKNOBRO/status/1763669411712352367

The reactions showed the illegal throw finished a huge title fight prematurely at ONE 166. It drew mass criticism and confusion from hardcore MMA fans. The heated fan response matched the rivalry between Brooks and Pacio over the strawweight title. Their trilogy will likely headline a future ONE card as fans demanded an immediate rematch.

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