"A complete honor" - Jarred Brooks hopes to fight Demetrious Johnson in ONE Championship
Jarred Brooks is looking forward to the future and hopes to someday fight Demetrious Johnson in the ONE Championship flyweight division. Doing so will make his dream come true to enter the same cage with his mixed martial arts idol.
Brooks is no stranger to the flyweight division as it was his former weight class while competing in other MMA promotions. Both were once in the same division in the UFC when Brooks was just making his mark while Johnson was on his way out.
Now that they are both in the same promotion once again, Brooks hopes to engage the 35-year-old veteran inside the ONE Championship cage. Brooks' dream of fighting his MMA idol will be a dream come true should the fight take place.
"If I could fight Demetrious Johnson in a year and a half, that would be an absolute dream come true," said Brooks in his ONE: Only the Brave post-fight interview. "Demetrious Johnson is my all-time superhero. He is the reason why I wanted to start mixed martial arts. If I got to fight him, that would be just a dream come true."
Even with just two fights in the strawweight division, Brooks created damage inside the MMA cage after battling Lito Adiwang and Hiroba Minowa. Both wins were very convincing and he looks to bring the same dominance when he moves up to flyweight.
"Strawweights are faster than flyweights. I think I could do the same thing at flyweight at the end of the day," said Brooks. "But yeah, if Demetrious Johnson, you are watching this, utmost respect, you are the best of all time in my opinion and to share the circle with you would be a complete honor."
Jarred Brooks willing to step up for Demetrious Johnson if he can't fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon
Johnson is now slated to headline the mixed-rules fight in ONE: X this coming March 26 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. 'Mighty Mouse' takes on ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Matches have been mixed up in previous fight cards due to injuries and health protocols. If for some reason 'Mighty Mouse' cannot compete, Brooks would be happy to step in and take up the challenge.
"If they want me to move up or even if Demetrious couldn't fight Rodtang, I would pop in and fight Rodtang," said Brooks. "I think I could last around and I'd think I'd run away from Rodtang for about three minutes and after that second round, I think I could definitely beat Rodtang."
The 28-year-old Brooks improved to a professional MMA record of 18-2 after his win over Minowa. 'The Monkey God' has not been defeated since entering the ONE Championship roster.