“I’m a more complete martial artist” - Jarred Brooks says fatherhood has allowed him to tap into his truest potential
Jarred Brooks believes he's evolved as a fighter since becoming a parent.
There are many chapters of an MMA world champion's journey. Brooks, a former ONE Championship strawweight MMA title holder, entered unfamiliar territory when his daughter was born in late 2023.
Brooks recently joined Sportskeeda for an exclusive interview to discuss various topics, including the newest edition to his family. The American superstar had this to say about the motivation he received and how it's made him a better fighter:
"I want to give her all my energy. I feel like I’m a more of a complete martial artist now that I’m a dad. It was a lot going into the Qatar fight, like three months before that, and all the time, I had my baby on me. And my body was just sore all the time."
Brooks continued:
"I don’t know if you guys saw what it’s like, but yeah, that first three months, it was Naomi with me all day. After training, at night, I was with her all the time. But now, she’s grown, it’s a bit better."
Following the birth of his daughter, Jarred Brooks made history by defeating Joshua Pacio to become the ONE strawweight MMA world title. Unfortunately for him, the throne was returned to Pacio in the rematch on March 1 due to 'The Monkey God' being disqualified for an illegal slam.
Watch the fight-ending sequence of Brooks vs Pacio 2 below:
Jarred Brooks begins road to Joshua Pacio trilogy
On August 2, the ONE Fight Night 24 features an interim strawweight MMA world title fight due to Joshua Pacio suffering a torn ACL in training. Former undisputed king Jarred Brooks will be featured, with number three-ranked Gustavo Balart looking to spoil his comeback opportunity.
Heading into next Saturday's event, Balart is riding a four-fight winning streak, including a split decision against Hiroba Minowa last time out. 'El Gladiator' must be ready for a war, as Brooks plans to secure the win and guarantee a trilogy bout against Pacio in late 2024 or early 2025.
ONE Fight Night 24 will take place inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The upcoming event headlined by Brooks vs Balart can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.