“He’s still a predator in his own right” - Jarred Brooks keeping himself grounded against dangerous Gustavo Balart

Jarred Brooks refuses to look past Gustavo Balart. After practically walking through a majority of the strawweight division's top five, including Hiroba Minowa, Bokang Masunyane, and reigning ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio, 'The Monkey God' is primed to pick off another notable name in the division when he meets fourth-ranked contender Gustavo Balart.

The two strawweight warriors will meet in the ONE Fight Night 24 headliner on Friday, August 2, with the interim ONE strawweight MMA world title hanging in the balance.

Looking ahead to their highly anticipated clash inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Brooks refuses to look past his opponent, seeing him as both a predator and a prey. Brooks told Sports Illustrated:

“I will never, ever look past Gustavo Balart. I see him as prey, but he’s still a predator in his own right.”

Unfortunately for Balart, the Cuban fan favorite won't leave the Mecca of Muay Thai with 26 pounds of gold wrapped around his waist, even if he defeats Brooks.

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Jarred Brooks vs. Gustavo Balart title fight sees last-minute shake-up

On Thursday, Gustavo Balart failed to make the weight and hydration requirements for his interim title fight with Jarred Brooks, making him ineligible to leave Thailand with the belt, regardless of how things play out.

Still, Brooks and Balart are more than ready to put on a fight to remember between two of ONE Championship's most exciting scrappers—even if only one of them can leave with the gold.

“We’re putting this on for all the short kings,” Brooks added. “You’ll see martial arts in a lot of different aspects. It’s two torpedoes coming at each other making fireworks. We’re looking to take each other’s head off.”

ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 24 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, August 2.