"There's life outside of fighting" - Jarred Brooks equally focused on goals outside the ONE Circle
Jarred Brooks opened up about the importance of balancing his life between fighting and other priorities.
On March 1, Brooks attempted to defend his ONE strawweight MMA world title in a rematch against Joshua Pacio. Less than a minute into the matchup, 'The Monkey God' unintentionally slammed Pacio on his head, which is illegal in ONE, forcing Herb Dean to disqualify him and crown 'The Passion' as the new champion.
Brooks and Pacio were supposed to book an immediate rubber match, which was postponed due to the latter suffering a torn ACL.
Therefore, the American superstar quickly went from being a ONE world champion to enduring arguably the worst setback of his fighting career.
During an interview with the South China Morning Post, Brooks showcased his mental toughness by discussing one of the reasons he's remained positive:
"I have a lot of things on my mind and there are also the tasks that are on hand, and it's not just Gustavo. There's life outside of fighting, and there are harder tasks as well. But I'm not afraid to tackle any task."
Brooks continued:
"I'm not afraid to die for what I believe in and what my cause is. So my cause is to have, one, my daughter look at me like I'm a superhero when I'm older, right? My daughter looks at me like a superhero. Then I did my job. Another thing, have my family, my wife look at me as a great provider and somebody who fought for a family."
Watch Jarred Brooks' entire interview with SCMP MMA below:
Jarred Brooks begins his road back to the undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world title
The ONE strawweight MMA division won't wait for Joshua Pacio, as several contenders are ready to fight.
On Aug, 2, No.1-ranked Jarred Brooks and third-ranked Gustavo Balart, who is riding a four-fight win streak, will battle for the interim world title in the ONE Fight Night 24 main event.
With a win against Balart, 'The Monkey God' will earn an opportunity to regain the undisputed world title against Pacio in early 2025.
ONE Fight Night 24 will take place inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The upcoming event headlined by Brooks vs. Balart can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.