Gustavo Balart is headed for the biggest fight of his career with utmost confidence that he will come away with another victory. ‘El Gladiator’ is on a four-fight winning streak and in his next fight, he wants nothing but victory.

On Friday, August 2, “El Gladiador” will battle former divisional king Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks for the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Championship at the main event of ONE Fight Night 24 inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Gustavo Balart aims to claim ONE Championship gold

The #3-ranked fighter in the division has been on a tremendous roll as of late, winning his last four bouts in the world’s largest martial arts organization. Two of those wins came against two former world titleholders, first against Yosuke Saruta at ONE 156 in April 2022 and followed by a hard-fought split decision victory over Alex Silva at ONE 162 six months later.

Now he is on the cusp of raising 26 pounds of gold when he goes up against another former king in Brooks. In an interview with ONE, the Cuban star expressed his joy in getting this tremendous opportunity and declared that he will reign supreme once everything is said and done.

“This is my dream. I have been working for this all my life,” he said. “What I left behind is so much. I worked really hard to be here and the time is now. There is no tomorrow. I am really happy to have this opportunity to fight. That night I am going to give it my all. All I know is that on August 2, ONE Championship will have a new king in the 125-pound division. His name is Gustavo Balart Marin.” Balart’s confidence is certainly warranted considering his latest run, but Brooks will not be easy to deal with.

Brooks seeks to give his best against Balart

“The Monkey God” collected three straight wins upon his arrival in ONE near the end of 2021, defeating contenders on his way to a World Title opportunity at ONE 164 in December 2022. There, he defeated Joshua “The Passion” Pacio to capture the ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship.

With no clear contenders, the American took a side quest by challenging ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci in his attempt at two-sport glory. While he ultimately did not achieve his goal, he won hearts and respect with his valiant performance against one of the best grapplers of this generation.

Unfortunately, Brooks lost his belt in the rematch with Pacio at ONE 165 earlier this year. The 31-year-old was a little too aggressive off the gates and inadvertently slammed the challenger on his head, resulting in a disqualification. The Mash Fight Team representative will have a chance at redemption when he faces the confident Balart at ONE Fight Night 24. Will the Cuban sensation continue to roll, or can the former world titleholder reclaim gold?