"100 percent he deserves to fight me" - Jarred Brooks says Gustavo Balart is the rightful contender for interim strawweight strap
Jarred Brooks is set to return as he looks to continue pursuing the ONE strawweight world championship.
'The Monkey God' has already beaten many of the top contenders in the division since arriving in ONE Championship.
However, his title reign came to an end in shocking circumstances with what went down at ONE 166 earlier this year.
Brooks lost his title after being disqualified for spiking Joshua Pacio but with the champion out injured, a rematch was postponed.
In Pacio's absence, his former opponent will be competing for the interim title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24 when he faces Gustavo Balart.
Brooks recently spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA where he gave his initial impressions of his opponent before they meet on August 2:
"I know a little bit about Gustavo, too. I know about his backstory, and he deserves the interim world title shot. 100 percent he deserves to fight me. So super excited, I hope he's preparing hard."
Jarred Brooks wants to make a statement
Jarred Brooks still believes that he is the true ONE strawweight world champion after losing the belt in an unfortunate manner.
His opponent, Balart, has built his own winning streak in the division with four consecutive wins, earning him this spot at Lumpinee Stadium.
Whilst the Cuban athlete will be looking to prove that he belongs at the very top of the strawweight ladder, Brooks' motivation comes from proving that he is still the best at this weight class.
It won't be an easy task against a strong grappler and powerful striker but these kinds of tests are exactly what motivates a competitor like Brooks to raise his game each time out.
ONE Fight Night 24 will air live in US Primetime, free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.