Jarred Brooks scored one of the biggest wins of his career at ONE Fight Night 24 last week, submitting ranked #3 strawweight contender Gustavo Balart via rear-naked choke in the first round. This victory earned him the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Title, with the fight taking place at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. Brooks is now aiming to unify the title against current ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio in the future.

Brooks isn’t the only one eagerly anticipating the title unification match. Joshua Pacio has also expressed his excitement for the showdown, taking to Instagram to congratulate Brooks on his victory. Pacio also sent a warm message to Brooks, preparing him for their unfinished business. He wrote, “Congratulations @the_monkeygod for that 1st round submission. And for your Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Happy for you man 15 years of jiu-jitsu grinding paid off. I’ll heal up and I’ll See You Soon!”

Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks have faced each other twice so far. Their first encounter was at ONE 164 in December 2022, where Brooks defeated Pacio via a unanimous decision in the fifth round to claim the ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship. However, Brooks’ reign was short-lived. Earlier this year, they met again at ONE 166: Qatar, where Brooks was disqualified due to an illegal slam on Pacio, resulting in the ONE World Title reverting to Pacio.

The pair initially sought to run it back for a third time, but an ACL injury to Pacio has prevented that fight from happening. Instead, an interim belt was introduced, and now Brooks has earned the right to face “The Passion” in a World Title unification bout.

Jarred Brooks celebrates interim title victory over Gustavo Balart

Jarred Brooks has once again claimed ONE Championship gold. Determined to hold onto the title for as long as possible this time around, his victory over Gustavo Balart brought him twice the joy. Along with winning the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Title, Brooks was also awarded his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in the ring by esteemed coach and multiple-time IBJJF World Champion Alex Hodi. Having been promoted to brown belt in 2022, Brooks’ black belt achievement adds another star to his current ONE World Title.

Brooks shared this news on Instagram, writing, “I GOT MY BELT BACK!! We want to thank everyone for the support and everyone who stayed up late to tune in. I one million percent could not have done this alone!!! I also got promoted to black belt by master @alexhodi! It is a complete honor to be your first black belt under the American jiu-jitsu system at @rootsjiujitsu. I thank you @onechampionship and @yodchatri for giving me a second chance at gold and be your champion!!”

Jarred Brooks is now poised to face his arch-rival Joshua Pacio in a highly anticipated trilogy bout for the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title once the Filipino is fully recovered from his injury. Will you be supporting the determined Jarred Brooks or the resilient Joshua Pacio? Comment your thoughts below!