ONE 171: Qatar Preview and Predictions

On Thursday, Feb. 20, ONE Championship returns to Qatar for a stacked event inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar.

ONE 171: Qatar is headlined by a trilogy bout between strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks. The matchup was postponed due to Pacio suffering a torn ACL in training last year, allowing Brooks to capture the interim strap.

Earlier in the night, Jonathan Haggerty will fight for the first time since his disappointing title-losing Muay Thai loss against Superlek. Haggerty now looks to bounce back with a bantamweight kickboxing world championship defense against Wei Rui.

ONE 171 features various intriguing matchups, including Dagi Arslanaliev vs. Roberto Soldic in the welterweight MMA division and Ilias Ennahachi vs. Petchtanong Petchfergus in a catchweight kickboxing bout.

ONE 171 airs live on YouTube starting at 10:00 a.m. ET..

There is no love lost between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks; which man ends the trilogy with a victory?

Jarred Brooks dominated his first fight against Joshua Pacio with his high-level grappling skills. The second meeting ended prematurely due to Brooks being disqualified due to illegally slamming Pacio on his head at ONE 166: Qatar.

Pacio has solidified his legacy by becoming a 6x ONE strawweight MMA world champion. ‘The Passion’ has the experience to compete against anyone in the division, but he hasn’t solved the puzzle of Brooks’ elite grappling skills.

Brooks puts an intense pace on his opponents, which Pacio must match while landing significant strikes. With enough damage inflicted, Pacio could regain undisputed status by outweighing the inevitable grappling exchanges in the judges’ minds.

Unfortunately for Pacio, Brooks has been unbeatable in the ONE strawweight division, not counting the previously mentioned disqualification. ‘The Monkey God’ should be able to overwhelm Pacio and secure a submission win in rounds three or four.

Jonathan Haggerty looks to defend his bantamweight kickboxing championship for the first time; will Wei Rui be able to dethrone the champion and extend his winning streak to 22?
Jonathan Haggerty’s legendary two-sport world champion run ended with a 49-second Muay Thai loss against Superlek.

Haggerty has an opportunity to silence the doubters by defending his bantamweight kickboxing world title before returning to Muay Thai.

Haggerty has a tough test to overcome, as Wei Rui has an advantage in kickboxing. Haggerty also needs to prove himself in the sport due to his only promotional win in the sport being against bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade.

Wei, a former K-1 world champion, should be able to avoid Haggerty’s power and outpoint him to walk away with a close unanimous decision win.

Roberto Soldic hasn’t fought since losing via TKO in 2023; will the time away from action do him good or will he suffer ring rust against Dagi Arslanaliev

Roberto Soldic was once a highly sought-after free agent who created headlines by signing with ONE Championship. The former KSW champion has since only fought twice, one no-contest and a second-round knockout loss against respectable opposition.

Soldic’s recent struggles shouldn’t have people overlooking him. The 30-year-old could be poised for a highlight-reel performance at ONE 171 after getting his feet wet in the promotion.

Dagi Arslanaliev is a longtime lightweight contender who’s moving up to welterweight. He hasn’t fought since a third-round knockout win against Timofey Nastyukhin in December 2021.

Soldic is due for a doubter-silencing performance. Arslanaliev’s extended layoff combined with Soldic’s destructive power should lead to a first or second-round knockout win for the former KSW champion.

Which fight is the sleeper matchup on this card?

The ONE 171 sleeper matchup is a catchweight kickboxing bout between Ilias Ennahachi and Petchtanong Petchfergus.

Ennahachi, a former 3x ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, moved up to bantamweight and defeated former champion Hiroki Akimoto in September 2024.

Ennahachi is knocking on the doorstep of a bantamweight title shot. He must get through Petchtanong, a former WBC & WMC champion who’s coming off three consecutive wins.

The combination of high-level experience and entertaining fighting style will likely lead to a Fight of the Night contender between Ennahachi and Petchtanong.