Lito Adiwang says first takedown key for Jarred Brooks and Gustavo Balart: "The match will really take a turn after that"
Filipino warrior Lito Adiwang believes the first takedown will set the tone of the ONE interim strawweight MMA world title joust between Jarred Brooks and Gustavo Balart.
The pair of ranked fighters trade leather in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24, which broadcasts live from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Given their similarities in the same department, as Jarred Brooks and Balart both hail from wrestling backgrounds, 'Thunder Kid' expects the competitor who successfully gets their foe on the back to have the upper hand as the scheduled five-round contest unfolds.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA last week, Adiwang offered:
"The match will really take a turn after that [the first takedown]. The movement after the takedown, because we all know in wrestling that after you try a takedown if you can overcome your opponent, then pin him, that's all you have to do."
Despite similarities, Lito Adiwang does not see Balart submitting Jarred Brooks
While he expects there to be a level playing field on the canvas, Adiwang doesn't make much of Balart's ability to finish the former ONE strawweight MMA world champion there.
Though the Cuban, a three-time Pan-American Greco-Roman wrestling champion, has the qualities to shoot in and switch levels, the Soma Fight Club standout believes Jarred Brooks has one too many tricks up his sleeve to draw a tap from the former if he does end up on his back.
In the same exchange with Sportskeeda MMA, he added:
"Those are the things that I don't see from Balart in this matchup, the submissions. I don't really see [or] imagine Balart submitting Brooks. On the other hand, Brooks can submit Balart anywhere in this fight."
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch their ONE interim strawweight MMA world title showdown and the entire ONE Fight Night 24 card live in U.S. primetime for free on Friday, August 2.