ONE Strawweight World Champion Jarred Brooks has been eagerly awaiting his next challenge, and he’s willing to fight literally anyone – regardless of the sport. After defeating ranked contenders on his way to claiming the stacked division’s crown against longtime king Joshua Pacio late last year, “The Monkey God” is ready to take on new faces and bigger names. 

Brooks previously expressed interest in fighting his “idol” Demetrious Johnson, but the reigning flyweight king isn’t the only fighter on his radar.

Jarred Brooks opined that he had enough grappling skills to beat Mikey Musumeci

Speaking to SCMP MMA, the dominant star said he’s willing to try his hand at submission grappling, and he called out ONE’s flyweight titleholder in the sport. “I would love to. I’ve already talked about that on Twitter a couple of times, but I would like to take a little bit of time out to prepare for that grappling [match]. I’m so focused on my mixed martial arts, I’ll go from style to style to style each day, and if I focus maybe six months, I can beat somebody like Mikey Musumeci,” Brooks said. 

“People will sit there and say, ‘That’s a very brash way of saying that you can beat Mikey.’ But people sleep on my grappling abilities as well, and I go with World Champions – black belts and brown belts – all day in no-gi, and I do very well, and they tell me that I would do very well. So yeah, Mikey, I’m coming for you too. If you’re not trying to come for me already.”

The Mash Fight Team representative has certainly showcased his grappling prowess in MMA, with eight of his 20 wins coming by way of submission, including two inside the ONE Circle. But a purely grappling competition has the potential to be a different story, especially against a world-class star like Musumeci.

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“Darth Rigatoni” is a five-time IBJJF World Champion, and he has defeated everyone that has stood in his way in ONE Championship. The American sensation has been open about a transition to MMA at some point. But he currently reigns supreme in the flyweight Submission Grappling division, with no plans to relinquish the throne.

Jarred Brooks could prove himself to be the best Flyweight grappler with some time

Brooks knows he’d need ample time to prepare to challenge Musumeci for his strap. However, when fully prepped, he is fully confident in his ability to pull off a win. “If I’m going go into a grappling competition and I’m already a champion, I’m going to fight a champion. Period. So you put me and Mikey Musumeci, of course, I’m going to need six months. The dude is a grappling wizard,” he said. 

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“I’ve known the dude since he was 10 years old, and the dude doesn’t get off the mats as far as grappling-wise. And as you can see he’s teaching people like f***in’ Mark Zuckerberg right now, so that’s insane as it is. All respect to Mikey Musumeci, but I want to step in the Circle and prove that I can be the best grappler in the world of flyweight.”