Jarred Brooks open to competing in kickboxing but not Muay Thai: “Those m**** are good”

Former ONE strawweight MMA world champion 'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks of the United States once competed in a pure submission grappling match against ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci.

So it should come as no surprise that the brash American is open to exploring possibilities in other combat disciplines in ONE Championship, including kickboxing.

However, there's one sport 'The Monkey God' wouldn't dare touch -- Muay Thai.

Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA in a recent interview, Brooks said that while he is open to dabbling in kickboxing and taking on the best fighters there, he has no intention of putting himself in harm's way against the absolute killers in Muay Thai.

'The Monkey God' stated:

"Like I've done better against Mikey Musumeci than a lot of jiu-jitsu world champions, and I want to prove to other people that I can do better than a lot of kickboxing world champions. I don't know about Muay Thai because those motherfuckers are good at Muay Thai, but kickboxing? Bro let's go. Let's go."

Brooks lost to Musumeci at ONE Fight Night 13 in August of 2023, but he more than held his own against one of the best grapplers in the world. Needless to say, 'The Monkey God' was undeniably impressive.

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'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks to face Gustavo Balart for the interim strawweight world title at ONE Fight Night 24 on Prime Video

Former strawweight MMA king 'The Monkey God' Jarred Brooks is getting ready to face Cuba's 'El Gladiador' Gustavo Balart for the ONE interim strawweight MMA world title.

The two lock horns in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on Prime Video.

The event broadcasts live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video. The event airs on Friday, August 2, beginning at 8:00pm ET.