“I just managed my martial arts style” - Jarred Brooks says he’s always been a natural striker despite his wrestling base

Jarred Brooks is arguably the best pound-for-pound wrestler in ONE Championship, but he claimed his striking should never be overlooked.

The former ONE strawweight MMA world champion said in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA that while he's known for his wrestling, his striking has always evolved with him.

A student of martial arts since he was a kid, Brooks said he favored his wrestling later in his career since he felt it became his best weapon during matches.

Jarred Brooks said:

"I've been striking since I was like nine years old. So I've been doing this for a very very long time. I've just managed my martial arts style and my game better over the years."

Brooks is a relentless grappler and his run in ONE Championship perfectly encapsulated that brutal wrestling-heavy style.

'The Monkey God' is 4-1 in his MMA matches in the promotion and has two submission wins over Lito Adiwang and Bokang Masunyane.

His lone loss in the promotion, though, was a bitter pill to swallow.

Brooks inadvertently spiked Joshua Pacio's head to the canvas in his world title defense at ONE 166.

Since the move was deemed illegal, Brooks ultimately received his first loss and relinquished the strawweight MMA throne to Pacio.

Brooks, however, has a chance to return to the title picture when he faces Gustavo Balart for the ONE interim strawweight MMA world title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24 on August 2 at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium.

ONE Fight Night 24 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Jarred Brooks hyped to face fellow wrestler Gustavo Balart for interim gold

With Joshua Pacio out with a knee injury, Jarred Brooks and Gustavo Balart have a chance at ONE Championship interim gold this coming August.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Brooks said he's excited to face a fellow grappler in Balart.

The American Top Team star is a highly credentialed grappler and represented Cuba in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Brooks said:

"We have wrestling backgrounds, and we go at a million miles an hour on our opponents. So I think that's a great counterpart to put into this production and what we're doing and what we're going to show in the fight."