Jarred Brooks is determined to reclaim ONE Championship gold, and he is unfazed by the confidence his upcoming opponent has been showing. 

On Friday, August 2, “The Monkey God” will battle Cuban sensation Gustavo Balart for the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24, which goes down inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Jarred Brooks is full of confidence against Gustavo Balart

“El Gladiador” hasn’t been shy about expressing his self-belief, which he has garnered from the four-fight win streak he is currently enjoying in ONE. But Brooks is having none of it. 

In an interview with ONE, the former strawweight MMA king explained how he plans to tame the vicious #3-ranked divisional contender at ONE Fight Night 24. 

“I have, like, a Jedi mind trick when I face other fighters. I make them calm down with my body language and how fast I might come at them. Aggression meets aggression,” Brooks said.  

“Let’s see who’s the bigger dog right now. I’ll get him in that corner. And then, when I have that little dog in the corner, he’s done. 

“I’m looking forward to showing everybody in the world that I can knock somebody out cold.” 

“The Monkey God” has been nothing short of excellent throughout his run in the world’s largest martial arts organization. He dominated everyone en route to claiming the World Title from Joshua “The Passion” Pacio at ONE 164 in December 2022. 

With such a stellar string of wins, the wrestling expert then decided to move over to submission grappling and challenge flyweight titleholder Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci at ONE Fight Night 13 in August last year. 

He was unsuccessful in claiming two-sport supremacy, but he did show the world that he could tussle with the best on the mats. 

“The Monkey God” and his promise to be poised

At ONE 166 earlier this past March, Brooks looked poised to retain his belt when he stepped into a rematch with Pacio. But an over-aggressive slam from the American saw him disqualified in the first round, so the World Title was handed back to “The Passion.”

Now, Brooks has a shot at claiming interim gold and booking a unification bout with his old foe at some point in the future. 

He has promised to show a more poised and measured approach at ONE Fight Night 24. But with Balart calling him out left, right, and center, chances are “The Monkey God” will be out to teach his opponent a lesson on August 2.