“The Time Is Now” – Jarred Brooks Persistent on Locking Horns With Demetrious Johnson Before the Legend’s Retirement

Jarred Brooks wants to face the best in the world to prove that he should be in the conversation, and he doesn’t want to miss the chance to beat a legend of the sport.

To that end, the ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion renewed his call to fight flyweight MMA king Demetrious Johnson in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post.

Jarred Brooks feels an urgency to challenge Demetrious Johnson

‘Mighty Mouse’ hinted at retirement in the weeks leading up to his trilogy-ending battle with Adriano Moraes at ONE Fight Night 10 this past May. He has also said that competing in grappling matches could satisfy his hunger for competition when he hangs up his MMA gloves. Johnson won his bout with Moraes and suggested the door could be open for more bouts in the future, and Brooks was one of many to throw his name in the hat to take on the American veteran before he calls it a day. ‘Mighty Mouse’ then went on to win gold at the IBJJF Masters Worlds in September, which suggested that he’s beginning to focus on grappling.

As such, ‘The Monkey God’ felt the urgency to remind Johnson that he’s still waiting to challenge him in MMA. The 30-year-old told SCMP MMA: “I just sense that when the time is ready, the time is now, you know. Demetrious, he’s doing Master Worlds jiu-jitsu championships. That’s not Demetrious! He’s [a fighter]. So it makes me worried. And I want to see Demetrious keep on going. I love watching the guy fight, as well. So if I could be his last fight, then that would be absolutely incredible.” Brooks has been on an absolute tear since he joined the world’s largest martial arts organization in 2021.

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He defeated all contenders to the strawweight crown and took out longtime king Joshua Pacio last December to claim the top prize. While he awaits a rightful challenger to his throne, ‘The Monkey God’ has expressed his desire to move up to challenge Johnson. He sees it as a potential “passing of the torch” moment, given that he believes he has the credentials to be in the conversation about who is the best mixed martial artist in the world. The only losses in his 22-fight career have been a controversial defeat to former UFC champion Deiveson Figueiredo in 2017 and what appeared to be a self-inflicted knockout slam against Jose Torres in 2018.

Fighting Johnson could be a legacy-defining moment for Jarred Brooks

Considering he has beaten some of the best in the world in his division, Brooks says that beating Johnson would finally put a deserved spotlight on his achievements.

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“To the fans and the people that don’t know me, I think that it would bring a huge spotlight on how good I actually am. People don’t even know that I went against Deiveson Figueiredo. The UFC hid that. I beat some of the best in the world, including myself. Right? Who do I beat at this point?” he said. “So ONE Championship – Demetrious Johnson, me – all in that ONE Circle, man. That just sounds like gold to me.”