"My mind is like steel" - Jarred Brooks remains determined as ever despite tough setback at ONE 166: Qatar
Since arriving in ONE Championship, Jarred Brooks has never been short of confidence. Truth be told, he's walked the talk every time he displays his talent on the global stage.
That was until he was handed a disqualification loss for his unintentional illegal spike to Joshua Pacio inside the Lusail Sports Arena at ONE 166: Qatar, a result that saw the ONE strawweight MMA world championship gold return to the Filipino.
Though he initially struggled to accept the manner of his loss, the top-ranked strawweight MMA contender has since moved on, looking at that setback as a stepping stone to greater things.
In a recent chat with MyKhel, Jarred Brooks admitted that his mindset hadn't suffered any negative consequences following the world title loss in the co-main event of ONE's debut show in Qatar.
'The Monkey God' offered:
"My mentality has not changed since that loss. My mind is like steel. I'm gonna be a rocket. I'm shooting myself to space in 2024."
Jarred Brooks' trilogy against Pacio has hit a bump
As thrilled as he is to pursue a rubber match against Pacio, recent news on 'The Passion's' ACL tear might deter his plans.
Per Tiebreaker Times, the Lions Nation MMA athlete pushed through that excruciating injury even during his fight camp for Brooks.
A couple of weeks after the showdown, the divisional king underwent a follow-up MRI to evaluate the neck injury he sustained from Brooks' slam. While there were positives on that end, further evaluation of his knee confirmed that Pacio did carry an ACL injury into the world title tilt.
Jarred Brooks, for his part, wishes his longtime nemesis a speedy recovery. Given the circumstances, he will shift his focus to other contenders to get himself ready for an inevitable trilogy against the Filipino MMA world champion.
In the same interview, Jarred Brooks added:
"I'm looking forward to going against other competitors in strawweight or flyweight. We'll see where it goes."