Jarred Brooks says plan was to finish Gustavo Balart in the later rounds: “Luckily, I got it done in the first”
Jarred Brooks expected to finish Gustavo Balart, but he thought the opportunity would present itself much later in the fight.
Five months after his devastating DQ loss to Joshua Pacio in Qatar, Brooks returned to the main event spotlight at ONE Fight Night 24 for an interim ONE strawweight MMA world title tilt with Cuban fan favorite Gustavo Balart.
'The Monkey God' went into the fight more than confident in his ability to finish Balart. He just didn't think it would happen as quickly as it did.
"I used that [my takedown game] to mostly get him tired. I knew that in that first round, I really wasn't even worried about losing the first round because I knew he was going to tire himself out, and then I could come back with kicks, with punches in the second and third. But luckily I got it done in the first, man."
By putting away 'El Gladiador' in round one, Brooks punched his ticket to an anticipated trilogy fight with undisputed strawweight king Joshua Pacio.
Jarred Brooks is willing to take another fight while Joshua Pacio heels from ALC surgery
As it stands, Brooks and Pacio are deadlocked at 1-1 after 'The Monkey God' took their first meeting at ONE 164 before handing the strawweight belt back to Pacio this past March in Qatar.
Eager to run it back for a third and final time, Jarred Brooks is excited about the opportunity to trade in his temporary title for undisputed gold.
"I just want the real championship. This means a lot, but it doesn’t mean as much as the real strawweight world championship."
Currently, Joshua Pacio is recovering from ACL surgery. With the timeline for his return still up in the air, Brooks is more than willing to take another fight.
"But also, you know, if he’s not in the mix, then I think that, you know, it shows that I’m the real champion, and then I can go against somebody with the likes of Demetrious Johnson."
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE Fight Night 24 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.