“He needs a heel” – Jarred Brooks ready to play the villain in potential Demetrious Johnson fight

Jarred Brooks has made a name for himself in ONE Championship since signing with the promotion in 2021. ‘The Monkey God’ has gone 3-0 inside the circle and now finds himself preparing for a shot at the ONE strawweight world championship.

In the build-up to his clash with Team Lakay’s Joshua Pacio, Brooks hasn’t been afraid of trash-talking his upcoming opponent. After their fight was rescheduled from its original June booking, it’s become a long-awaited grudge match between the two top fighters of the division.

Brooks also recently called out another competitor, though this time, he was far more respectful. After hearing Demetrious Johnson mention his name on The Joe Rogan Experience, Brooks posted a video of himself talking about hopefully sharing the circle with ‘Mighty Mouse’.

In an interview with MMA Sucka, Jarred Brooks was asked about this recent video and why he sees himself as a good opponent for Johnson. He replied:

“He [Johnson] needs somebody like me, he needs a heel, he needs somebody who’s gonna push him and have a good fight. Because I think he’s a very durable fighter for a small fighter. So, after a while, we’ll see how it goes for five rounds.”

Watch the full interview below:

Brooks will finally face Joshua Pacio for the ONE strawweight world championship at ONE 164 on December 3.

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“I want to test myself” – Fighting the bigger guys is a motivation for Jarred Brooks

Jarred Brooks has got his sights set on moving up a weight class if he is successful in his upcoming world championship fight.

‘The Monkey God’ has waited a long time to finally get his shot at Joshua Pacio. On December 3, the ONE strawweight world title is on the line in the champion’s own backyard in Manila, Philippines. After the fight was rescheduled to December from its original June booking, their long-anticipated grudge match is just weeks away.

Despite having to wait for his world title shot, Brooks is already eyeing up the biggest names in the weight division immediately above as potential opponents.

The flyweight division presents huge challenges in the form of Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes. Naturally, the 29-year-old contender is eager to move up, he spoke to MMA Sucka:

“I want that because, one, it’s gonna spring me up way more and people are gonna actually see the hard work and determination and the heart that I have and I can put it out on the line."

He added:

"Against these strawweights, I’m not a big strawweight. I could fight at atomweight. I’m 122 pounds right now, literally. I can fight atomweight but I want to test myself. I want to show these big guys that everybody thinks they’re unbeatable right?”

Since making his promotional debut in 2021, Brooks has emerged as the clear contender for Pacio’s world championship with three consecutive wins.

Finishing Pacio’s teammate Lito Adiwang by way of a triangle choke in his promotional debut, Jarred Brooks believes he can do it again and beat the last of the Team Lakay world champions on his own turf.