Jarred Brooks believes ONE Championship is the best combat sports promotion in the world – even when compared with the Las Vegas-based UFC. The 29-year-old American partook in his fourth fight with ONE on Saturday night in Manila, defeating local hero Joshua Pacio by unanimous decision to claim the strawweight MMA title. It was the crowning achievement of his career, and he made sure to share the glory with the promotion. “I love this promotion,” he said in his post-fight interview with commentator Mitch Chilson. “This is the best promotion in the world. I’ve been treated like royalty, and with all due respect, this is way better than the UFC.” Brooks (20-2) is well positioned to compare ONE and the UFC, as one of just a handful of fighters to compete in both organisations. He went 2-2 in the Octagon in 2017 and 2018, and has not only achieved better results in ONE, but claims he is being treated better, too. ONE 164: Brooks takes title from Pacio in Manila “It’s the staff,” he told the Post in an exclusive interview after his title win over Pacio. “They give me the proper tools and the proper environment to build myself. “Other promotions haven’t done that for me. They haven’t showed me loyalty and I’m as loyal as a dog. You will not get anything but loyalty from me. If that is given to me, I’m going to show it back tenfold.” Brooks is not the first person to claim ONE has a leg up on the UFC. The Singapore-based promotion’s CEO Chatri Sityodtong has repeatedly claimed his company is superior. Some of his supporting arguments have been debatable, but he has at several time suggested ONE’s champions could beat the UFC’s, and Brooks agrees. The new strawweight king believes middleweight champion Reinier de Ridder, lightweight champion Christian Lee, featherweight contender Fabricio Andrade, and flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson could all beat the top fighters in the UFC’s corresponding divisions. “We could go tit-for-tat with the UFC,” he said. “We have shown we are just as good, if not better than the UFC.” Speaking at the conclusion of Saturday night’s event in Manila, Chatri once again expressed interest in co-promoting a card with the UFC, and pitting their champions against each other. It is a very exciting idea, but it seems nearly impossible, as the UFC has never played well with others. Luckily, Brooks does not need to court the champions of other promotions. He has plenty of compelling options in ONE – including a clash with the flyweight champion Johnson, who is widely considered the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. It would be a gargantuan challenge for Brooks, who would presumably move up a weight class for the fight, but one he believes he could topple. “You’ve gotta beat that dude at his own game,” he said. “Demetrious is very fast, very agile, and he’s super strong too. I think I have a little bit more power on the feet, and I think that I could show him things that he’s never been involved with in the sport.” Brooks is also willing to defend his belt against his latest foe Pacio. The former champ put forth an impressive effort in his Saturday night loss, stopping multiple takedowns and landing some nice shots over the course of five rounds. After venturing into enemy territory to challenge Pacio, Brooks believes “The Passion” should return the favour, and seek his redemption at ONE’s anticipated debut in the United States this Spring – which the promotion has not yet made official. “This isn’t the end with Joshua Pacio,” Brooks said. “I would love to give him another chance. He can come to my home turf and we can see where it goes from there.” It may surprise some fans to see Brooks offering a rematch, given all the trash talking that preceded their Saturday night clash. But after the fact, it is clear he has plenty of respect for his Filipino rival. “Kudos to Joshua Pacio,” he said. “He made me use my hands. Kudos to Joshua Pacio for having amazing takedown defence – that’s like Jose Aldo level takedown defence. He was super strong.”