Jarred Brooks says he can’t be complacent fighting against ‘smaller’ Gustavo Balart: “People have different styles”

Jarred Brooks has dominated every opponent ONE Championship has put in front of him.

Running the gauntlet of strawweight contenders, 'The Monkey God' has bested Lito Adiwang, Hiroba Minowa, Bokang Masunyane, and current ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio. But just because he's passed every test thus far doesn't mean he can afford to be complacent—especially when his next task is to take out one of the hottest fighters in all of strawweight MMA.

Returning to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok this Friday, August 2, Jarred Brooks will square off with streaking Cuban standout Gustavo Balart for the interim ONE strawweight MMA world championship.

Looking ahead to their highly anticipated clash, Brooks knows that he's facing an opponent with a style vastly different than that of his previous foes.

"And he’s a completely different opponent than what I’m used to fighting," Brooks told FightWave. "He’s a smaller guy, I know that I’ve fought Bokang Masunyane, but man, I think that I can show people that I have a completely different style. And, people have different styles for different characteristics depending on their body types."

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Jarred Brooks faces an interesting challenge in interim title fight against Gustavo Balart

While Brooks will be looking to recover from a devastating disqualification loss to Joshua Pacio in March, Gustavo Balart rights into the Mecca of Muay Thai on a four-fight win streak, including a noteworthy win over fourth-ranked contender Hiroba Minowa in his last outing.

Aside from his well-rounded skill set—constantly posing a threat on his feet and the ground—'El Gladiador' makes for a unique opponent standing at just 4'8" tall, five inches shorter than Brooks who stands at a fairly modest 5'1".

While on paper, that may seem like an advantage for Brooks with wrestling being the primary attack. On the other hand, it could also pose an interesting challenge for the former strawweight world champion as he faces a fighter with a very low center of gravity.

“He’s got a low center of gravity, and it’s going to be a little different for me to punch down,” Brooks said in an interview with Sherdog.com.

Who leaves Thailand with interim gold and a future date with undisputed strawweight champion Joshua Pacio?

ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 24 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, August 2.