ONE Fight Night 24: Jarred Brooks certain he can handle Gustavo Balart’s ‘super heavy grappling’
Jarred Brooks isn't overly worried about fatiguing from a potential grappling-heavy approach from Gustavo Balart.
On Friday night, Brooks looks to take a massive step toward regaining the ONE strawweight MMA world title. To do so, 'The Monkey God' must take out number-three ranked Balart for the interim strap in the ONE Fight Night 24 main event.
Brooks and Balart share a similar fighting style, as they tend to rely on their high-level grappling skills.
The only difference is 'El Gladiator' utilizes a non-stop pace to drain his opponent's gas tanks, which Brooks mentioned during an interview with the promotion:
“The only thing that will get me tired is maybe like a super heavy grappling exchange to where you almost catch me. But I don't see Gustavo doing that.”
Jarred Brooks vs. Gustavo Balart is one of several intriguing matchups taking place inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Friday's event featuring two world title fights can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Is Jarred Brooks the best grappler in ONE strawweight MMA division?
In January 2022, Jarred Brooks faced top contender Hiroba Minowa, who is considered a grappling specialist in the ONE strawweight division.
Brooks outgrappled Minowa for three rounds to secure a unanimous decision win.
At ONE Fight Night 24, Brooks will face another high-level grappler in the division, Gustavo Balart.
With a win on Friday, 'The Monkey God' would solidify himself as the proven strawweight MMA grappler in the promotion.
'The Monkey God' isn't overly focused on claiming the interim ONE strawweight MMA world title. Instead, the American superstar wants the strap to secure a trilogy bout against Joshua Pacio for undisputed gold.
Earlier this year, Brooks faced Pacio in a rematch where the latter became the new world champion due to disqualification. 'The Passion' later suffered a torn ACL in training, postponing the inevitable trilogy matchup.