“Those guys doing that made me wanna fight even more” - Jarred Brooks recalls the time he fell in love with MMA

Jarred Brooks recalled the first time he truly fell in love with mixed martial arts and the events that shaped him into the fighter he is today. Like many athletes of his generation, Brooks grew up watching the first MMA pioneers at PRIDE FC hoping to be just like them.

Surrounded by amateur and professional fighters for most of his youth, watching how they rolled on the mats eventually inspired him to try it for the first time.

He recalled those first few moments with Tim Wheaton from MMA Sucka and said:

“I would say, even going to those small MMA events as a kid. My dad taking me to these MMA events and being around those guys, I got to roll with them after the fight. I’m like ‘hey can I come in the cage and roll with you?”

It wasn’t until he experienced his first loss in an amateur fight that the obsession to fight and win truly began. He added:

“Those guys doing that made me wanna fight even more. I was itching for a fight at age 14 that was my first fight, I lost that fight, I never wanted to fight again. My dad called me a p***y. Next two weeks, I fought again and didn’t lose until Deiveson Figueiredo.”

Catch Jarred Brooks' comments (22:55) below:

Jarred Brooks racked up a ridiculous MMA record of 13 straight wins before he fell to the current two-time UFC flyweight world champion Deiveson Figueiredo in October 2017 by split- decision.

He experienced another back-to-back loss in the American promotion before redeeming himself with six more wins, including three under ONE Championship. Brooks’ journey to the top has certainly paid off as he’s now booked to square off with Joshua Pacio for the ONE strawweight world title at ONE 164.

Catch ‘The Monkey God’ in action on Saturday, December 3 as he attempts to become the first American in ONE history to win the strawweight gold.

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Mark Sangiao believes Joshua Pacio has all the tools to stop Jarred Brooks at ONE 163

Team Lakay’s head coach Mark Sangiao believes Jarred Brooks is going to eat his words on Saturday, December 3.

It’s no secret that there’s a lot of bad blood between Team Lakay and Jarred Brooks. However, Sangiao’s priority is making sure Joshua Pacio is physically and mentally ready for his fourth world title defense no matter who the opponent is.

Keeping a deaf ear to Brooks’ antics and trash-talking, Sangiao told ONE Championship that the divisional king has all the tools to stop his toughest challenger on the global stage:

“We already know how physically strong Brooks is, especially with his wrestling. We’re working hard to defend, counter, and execute the perfect game plan to stop his takedowns. Plus, Lito Adiwang also gave us pointers when he last fought Jarred.”’

Watch Brooks' last fight below: