'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Jarred Brooks reflected on his ONE flyweight MMA debut against Reece McLaren.
In December 2024, Brooks temporarily left the ONE strawweight MMA division to test his fighting skills at flyweight.
'The Monkey God' showcased a valiant effort against longtime flyweight contender Reece McLaren before suffering a split decision loss at ONE Fight Night 26.
During an interview with The MMA Superfan, Brooks had this to say about his bout against McLaren:
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
"I was making him smile a lot. And you know what happens when people smile in fights? It's ‘Yo, yeah, you hit me really hard. I don't want you to know that you hit me really hard.’ And, yeah, he hit me with like three hard punches, and in the second round, and he cut me in the third."
Trending
Brooks followed up by saying:
"It was a close fight. I'm not gonna contest. It wasn't like Figureido, like I feel like I didn't get robbed, or anything like that."
Jarred Brooks didn't have plans to stay at flyweight permanently. Four months before fighting Reece McLaren, Brooks defeated Gustavo Balart by first-round submission to claim the ONE interim strawweight MMA world title.
Watch Brooks' entire interview with The MMA Superfan below:
Jarred Brooks looks to regain undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world title
In December 2022, Jarred Brooks defeated Joshua Pacio to become the ONE strawweight MMA world champion.
Pacio regained the throne a year and a half later when Brooks was disqualified due to illegally spiking his opponent on his head.
Several months later, Pacio suffered a torn ACL while training, postponing his inevitable trilogy bout with Brooks to 2025.
As previously mentioned, Brooks solidified a third bout with Pacio by claiming the interim world title against Gustavo Balart.
Brooks and Pacio are scheduled to headline ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20 to determine the undisputed strawweight MMA king.
ONE 171 goes down inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar.
In the co-main event, Jonathan Haggerty will defend his bantamweight kickboxing world title for the first time. Haggerty's upcoming opponent is Chinese superstar Wei Rui, who defeated former champion Hiroki Akimoto in his ONE debut.
