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ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks is set to defend his belt against the man he took it from, Joshua Pacio, at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. Ahead of his world title rematch in the Middle East, 'The Monkey God' sat down with FightWave on YouTube to discuss his career so far.
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It's been a long, hard road to the top for Jarred Brooks, who bounced around different promotions through the years before finding ONE Championship as his home.
Speaking on how ONE changed not just the trajectory of his career but also his life, Brooks said:
“I had to get jobs, I had to, you know, not train as much. I was still working you know 30 to 40 hours, and not being able to train, while now I actually get to train, I get to mend all of my aspects together.”
Opportunities and advancements in one's career are not all about luck - it is, most importantly, about hard work. Despite having to juggle work and fight career, Jarred Brooks' steely determination brought him to the world's largest martial arts promotion and eventually made him a global star.
Watch the full interview here:
Jarred Brooks: "Nobody gave a s**t about me"
It's surprising that, despite his charismatic persona and awe-inspiring fight skills, Brooks admits that not a lot of people believed in him. In his lengthy career, 'The Monkey God' can only name a few individuals who stood by his side since day one.
He told FightWave:
“Nobody gave a s**t about me, like I've had had like maybe five people on my on the tip of my hand that I can say actually gives a s**t about my career...So I have to put things into my own hands at the end of the day and that's what I did.”
ONE 166: Qatar will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.
