Jarred Brooks says his ‘good’ striking often goes under the radar due to superior wrestling: “It’s a big black hole”

One of the biggest drawbacks of having such a refined grappling game for Jarred Brooks is that his striking often goes under the radar. Not that it will concern him too much, though, ahead of his rematch against Joshua Pacio in Qatar on March 1.

That evening, ‘The Monkey God’ puts his ONE strawweight MMA world title on the line against the top-ranked contender and former titleholder on the organization’s debut card in the region set for the Lusail Sports Arena.

After surprising the world with a more well-rounded approach when he went toe-to-toe with Pacio at ONE 164 in December 2022, showcasing glimpses of his artillery in the stand-up, Jarred Brooks is confident he can do the same when he faces the fan-favorite Filipino for the second time.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, the Mash Fight Team star discussed his striking and why it has somewhat been overlooked throughout his career.

‘The Monkey God’ said:

“My striking has always been good. It's just you got to get past my wrestling in order for me to show my striking. So, you know, it's a big black hole, and you just got to keep on digging into it.”

Watch the full interview here:

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Jarred Brooks: “I beat a wushu world champion on the feet”

Even for the most ardent fans of Jarred Brooks, his world title display over ‘The Passion’ in Manila, Philippines, came as much of a surprise.

Of course, his skill set on the canvas allowed him to outmaneuver Pacio whether he was in full mount or half guard.

What stood out the most, however, was his weapons in the striking department, which frustrated his striking-based opponent throughout the 25-minute fight and capped a remarkable performance on his way to clinching the strap.

In a separate interview with ONE, Jarred Brooks said:

“All of the mixed martial arts that I have encompassed in the past year. I showed that I'm a complete mixed martial artist against Joshua Pacio when I beat a Wushu world champion on the feet.”

ONE 166: Qatar will be available to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Two other world rematches scheduled for the monumental bill will see Reinier de Ridder face Anatoly Malykhin to decide the fate of the middleweight MMA gold.

Last but not least, Tang Kai faces Thanh Le in a featherweight world title unification contest.