Lito Adiwang believes Jarred Brooks' stand-up often goes unnoticed: "His striking is really underrated"
Lito Adiwang claimed Jarred Brooks doesn't receive the credit he deserves for his striking skills.
In November 2021, Brooks made his ONE Championship debut and defeated Adiwang by second-round submission. Since then, 'The Monkey God' has extended his promotional MMA record to 4-1, including a unanimous decision win against Joshua Pacio to become the ONE strawweight MMA world champion.
Brooks has established a reputation for being a pure grappler due to his high-level wrestling skills.
Yet, the 31-year-old American superstar has made improvements to his striking, which was acknowledged by his former opponent, Adiwang, who had this to say during an interview with Sportskeeda:
"I think yeah, his striking is really underrated. His wrestling really shines through and it often makes people overlook his striking. We can't deny that he's an amazing wrestler also."
Watch the full fight between Jarred Brooks and Lito Adiwang below:
Lito Adiwang keeping a close eye on Jarred Brooks vs Gustavo Balart
In March, Jarred Brooks attempted to defend his ONE strawweight MMA world title against Joshua Pacio. Unfortunately, he accidentally slammed Pacio on his head, leading to a first-round disqualification and a new champion being crowned at ONE 166: Qatar.
Pacio later suffered a torn ACL while training, postponing his trilogy bout against Brooks. As a result, 'The Monkey God' will fight Gustavo Balart on August 2 in the ONE Fight Night 24 main event for the interim strawweight MMA throne.
ONE Fight Night 24 goes down inside the iconic 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.
Lito Adiwang will keep a close eye on Brooks vs Balart, as he's riding a three-fight win streak in the ONE strawweight MMA division. Therefore, 'Thunder Kid' could be one impressive performance away from fighting the winner of Brooks/Balart vs. Pacio, which is expected to take place in early 2025.