"I've always wanted to be like DJ" - Jarred Brooks reveals admiration for Demetrious Johnson

Jarred Brooks has only two fights in ONE Championship. However, his body of work combined with the level of competition he’s taken out has earned the praise of MMA legend Demetrious Johnson.

Johnson recently stated in an interview that Brooks could potentially beat ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio if they ever faced each other. Of all the perspectives, Brooks thinks this one is probably the most significant for him.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Jarred Brooks said:

“Man, I was ecstatic. I mean, you’re talking about the best of all time, the GOAT, Demetrious Johnson... That’s somebody I’ve looked up to since I was in high school. And what made me really want to fight and really want to pursue fighting at a smaller weight class. He was definitely the project, for sure.”

Like Johnson, ‘The Monkey God’ traces his martial arts roots to wrestling. Given that both competed in the lighter divisions in North America, it’s not surprising that Brooks would want to emulate ‘Mighty Mouse’ in his MMA career:

“I’ve always wanted to be like DJ, and I have a little DJ likeness to me, I would say that."

Earlier this year, Brooks made himself available as a possible replacement for Johnson should anything untoward happen prior to his epic bout against Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE X. It even spawned the idea of doing his own special-rules superfight with Jonathan Haggerty.

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Jarred Brooks needs to build his own legacy for a dream match with Demetrious Johnson

Demetrious Johnson has become a household name for defending the UFC flyweight title 11 times, the most in the history of the promotion. It cemented his legacy as one of the greatest fighters and champions of our time.

While Jarred Brooks may not have enough time to match Johnson’s feat, he can certainly build his own legacy in ONE Championship by clearing out the division as quickly as possible.

At ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic, Brooks will have a chance to inch closer to that goal. The American will face top-ranked Bokang Masunyane in a world title eliminator, with the winner earning a spot opposite Joshua Pacio for the ONE strawweight world title.

Should Brooks eventually prove to be the best strawweight in the promotion, he can confidently say that he is worthy of pursuing his goal of challenging his hero in a dream match.