“I'm not afraid to lose” - Jarred Brooks says his fearlessness in the face of defeat is key to success
MMA superstar Jarred Brooks of the United States is indeed brazen, but he also has his own ways to drive himself forward regardless of all obstacles.
'The Monkey God' is carrying that into his effort to kickstart his second reign with an interim title main event against Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24 on Aug. 2.
Brooks has always had that do-or-die mentality, despite suffering a controversial loss where he was disqualified and lost his ONE strawweight MMA world title to Joshua Pacio in their title match at ONE 166: Qatar.
Now, the American reflects on the challenges he had to overcome and plans to march through another tough opponent in Balart, as he shared with South China Morning Post in a recent interview:
"I really appreciate the people that stick by me and understand that life is a course, and there's a lot of hurdles. I'm not afraid to jump over them. If I trip, I trip, I fall and I come back."
"And, that's been my whole career. I'd like to call myself a winner, but I do lose, and I'm not afraid to lose, and I think that that's what makes me dangerous too."
ONE Fight Night 24 will air live in U.S. primetime from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium. North American fans can catch the entire event free of charge with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Reasons why Gustavo Balart would not be easy for Jarred Brooks
Jarred Brooks is not going to have an easy time trying to control Gustavo Balart.
As a fierce competitor in ONE's strawweight division, a former Olympian with his Cuban wrestling pedigree, Balart will pose a tough challenge for Brooks.
'The Monkey God' will have to impose his game and dictate the pace, such as what he did with Filipino star Lito Adiwang, while at the same time dealing with Balart's constant pressure.
Certainly, Brooks will not let himself be bullied, as he surely will have more ideas in his game plans on how to take Balart out of his game and claim the ONE interim strawweight MMA world title to start his second reign in ONE Championship.