"It's hard to come up with words to even say to him" - Jarred Brooks gets starstruck meeting Demetrious Johnson

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Jarred Brooks (left) shares a lighthearted moment with Demetrious Johnson (right) at the fighters' hotel ahead of ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic. [Photo ONE Championship Instagram]

Jarred Brooks is arguably ONE Championship’s best promo artist, but there are still times when he gets tongue-tied.

The trash-talking expert admitted that he was speechless when he bumped into Demetrious Johnson, who’s considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, at the fighters’ hotel ahead of ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic.

Check out the hilarious interaction below:

Discussing the meeting in an interview with ONE Championship, Brooks said:

“[I was] Speechless just meeting him. Because when I was 14, 15 years old, I’m watching Demetrious Johnson win a world title. You know, it was just really hard to even come up with the words to say to him, like, ‘Thank you.’ I really wanted to say thank you because that’s how I felt.”

Since arriving in ONE Championship in late 2021, Brooks has gone scorched earth on whoever he pleases.

The former UFC fighter targeted ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio, ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes, and even the whole Team Lakay stable.

Despite his tendency to talk trash, Brooks had nothing but admiration for Johnson. Brooks added that when he was struggling to talk to Johnson, it was ‘Mighty Mouse’ who carried the conversation with him.

“He was telling me, ‘Do you make 125 [pounds]?’ And I was like, ‘I’m actually 122 pounds sopping wet.' And he was like, ‘Well you’re young.’ He said to me, ‘Go out and try to do the best that you can do in this sport and try to get as much money as you can.’ That was some really good words from the GOAT.”

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Demetrious Johnson is also in admiration of Jarred Brooks’ skills

Jarred Brooks will take on Bokang Masunyane in a title eliminator at ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on April 22. The event will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The fight will be Brooks’ biggest in his ONE Championship career to date. That's because a win will put him in a title match against Pacio. A match of such magnitude begets prying eyes and one of Brooks’ biggest supporters is Johnson himself.

In a previous interview with ONE, Johnson said that Brooks could beat Pacio if they fight in the future.

“He's been doing amazing things and I think he'll probably give Joshua Pacio his toughest test if not beat him. Because he has that constant, constant, constant pressure and grind.”

We'll find out if Jarred Brooks can secure a chance to do so this Friday at ONE 156.

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