Jarred Brooks doesn’t buy Muhammad Mokaev hype: “I’ll show him what’s up real quick”
Jarred Brooks isn't buying into the Muhammad Mokaev hype. Mokaev has been the subject of many headlines in recent weeks after he was unceremoniously dismissed from his employer despite having a spotless 12-0 record.
In the eyes of many, 'The Punisher' was seen as a future world champion, but 'The Monkey God' simply doesn't see it.
Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview, the interim ONE strawweight MMA world champion shared his honest take on Mokaev's skill set and what the Dagestani-born fighter can expect if he ever makes his way to ONE Championship.
"I'm a Dagestani killer at the end of the day," Brooks said. "I don't think that he has the mentality of a champion. He constantly was giving the UFC issues as far as you know contractual things. I think that he thinks that he's better than actually what he is. So if he does want to come down to ONE Championship then yeah, I'll show him what's up real quick."
What's next for Jarred Brooks and Muhammad Mokaev?
While Muhammad Mokaev looks for a new job, Jarred Brooks will continue to hold down things in the strawweight division while undisputed titleholder Joshua Pacio continues to recover from a torn ACL.
Brooks and Pacio have met on two separate occasions, the first coming at ONE 164 in Manilla. There, 'The Monkey God' secured a decisive unanimous decision following a dominant five-round showing in Pacio's home country to claim the undisputed strawweight strap.
15 months later, they would run it back in Qatar. Unfortunately for Brooks, he would see his title reign come to a crashing halt after he was disqualified less than a minute into the bout for inadvertently spiking Pacio on the top of his head during a takedown attempt.
Fortunately, Pacio didn't suffer any major neck trauma, but an ACL injury has forced him to the sidelines for the foreseeable future. But there's no doubt that once Pacio is cleared for a comeback, Jarred Brooks will be chomping at the bit to close out their trilogy and trade in his temporary title for undisputed gold.
Until then, you can check out Brooks' interim title-winning performance against Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24 on demand via Amazon Prime Video in both the United States and Canada.