“People think I’m insane” - Jarred Brooks reveals his father would often tell opponents how to beat him in matches
Jarred Brooks has always fought his matches with a dogged mentality that stemmed from his early beginnings on the wrestling mats in Michigan.
Taking to Instagram, the ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion revealed that his father Robert often told his opponents how to throw him out of his comfort zone.
Despite his father telling his opponents the ways to beat him, this pre-fight routine instilled an unbridled confidence in the young Brooks.
He wrote on Instagram:
"People think I’m insane for this type of mentality, but my father @robert.ford.980967 has always instilled confidence in me in the most crazy ways possible, my father would literally tell my opponents what I was going to do to get out of my comfort zone, which made me even more confident."
Jarred Brooks added:
"The pushback is always the way to win against resistance. I am super grateful to him and my brother for making me un****withable, of course, I have lost matches I thought I could win, but that is what made me the man and competitor I am today! Names are names and bodies are bodies."
That tremendous self-belief eventually pushed Brooks to ONE Championship, where he became a ONE strawweight MMA world champion.
He now jumps to the flyweight MMA division when he takes on Reece McLaren at ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
ONE Fight Night 26 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Reece McLaren says Jarred Brooks is far too one-dimensional to succeed against him
Reece McLaren and Jarred Brooks share a similar ground-base style, but the fourth-ranked flyweight MMA contender believes the American star doesn't have enough versatility inside the cage.
In an interview with ONE Championship, McLaren said Brooks is fixated on taking the fight to the ground and relies mostly on his wrestling to get the job done:
"I kind of feel he is a little bit one-dimensional with his wrestling offense. He moves a lot, and then he always looks to try and wrestle," said McLaren.