Jarred Brooks says Olympic wrestler Gustavo Balart doesn’t “have the cardio to really hang” with him in grappling exchanges

Jarred Brooks never underestimates himself in any situation, even if he's facing an Olympic-level wrestler.

The American star is set to face Gustavo Balart for the ONE interim strawweight MMA world title in what should be a grappling-heavy affair in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24.

Ahead of his August 2 matchup at Lumpinee Stadium, Brooks expressed his overwhelming confidence against the Cuban Olympic wrestler.

Jarred Brooks told ONE Championship in an interview:

"Even in the wrestling exchanges, this is a five-round fight. I don't think he's going to have the cardio to really hang with me."

Brooks, a former ONE strawweight MMA world champion, is one of the most aggressive grapplers in the sport, and he has used his overwhelming wrestling style to dominate the competition in ONE Championship.

'The Monkey God' is 4-1 in his MMA matches in the promotion, 20-3 overall, and his lone loss resulted in a disqualification.

Brooks was making his defense of the strawweight MMA throne against Joshua Pacio at ONE 166 earlier this year, but he inadvertently spiked his Filipino rival's head on the mat in the first round of their fight.

The move is deemed illegal under ONE Championship, and Brooks had to relinquish the ONE strawweight MMA world title to Pacio.

Balart, meanwhile, is riding a four-fight winning streak and currently ranks as the number three contender in the strawweight MMA division.

ONE Fight Night 24 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Jarred Brooks expects an aggressive Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24

Jarred Brooks knows he'll be in for a fight once he steps between the ropes and stares at Gustavo Balart in Bangkok.

In the same interview with ONE Championship, Brooks said Balart would immediately charge at him at the start of the fight.

He said:

"[Balart] is like a torpedo that first two rounds. You can hit him, and he's just gonna keep on coming forward. He doesn't care. He's just gonna hit you with those leg kicks and try to swing for the fences until he can reach your chin. So he's tough in that aspect."