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If Gustavo Balart pins your back to the mat, he's likelier to go for the ground-and-pound attack than fish for a submission.
That comes according to strawweight standout Lito Adiwang who recently sat down with Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview to offer his take on the upcoming interim strawweight MMA title clash between Balart and former ONE world champion Jarred Brooks.
"If Balart takes you down, he’ll pin you, he’ll go for the ground and pound," Adiwang said. "He doesn’t get into a position where he can hunt for a submission, try to hunt for a legit position to really unleash ground and pound."
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Gustavo Balart will meet 'The Monkey God' on Friday, August 2 when the two strawweight warriors square off in the ONE Fight Night 24 headliner emanating from the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The winner will leave with 26 pounds of interim gold and a future date with the division's undisputed world champion, Joshua Pacio.
Gustavo Balart faces his toughest test yet against Jarred Brooks in Bangkok
After kickstarting his ONE Championship run with three straight losses, Gustavo Balart has won four in a row, including a noteworthy win over fourth-ranked contender Hiroba Minowa at ONE 165 in Tokyo.
As impressive as 'El Gladiador' has looked in the last few years, he has never faced an opponent as dangerous as Jarred Brooks.
'The Monkey God' climbed to the top of the strawweight MMA mountain in ONE Championship, running through Lito Adiwang, Hiroba Minowa, and Bokan Masunyane before earning a dominant decision victory over Joshua Pacio to take home the strawweight MMA world title in December 2022.
Running it back this past March in Qatar, Brooks handed the belt back to Pacio after inadvertently spiking 'The Passion' on the top of his head during an early takedown attempt in their ONE 166 sequel, resulting in disqualification.
Who leaves The Land of Smiles with interim gold when two of the division's most exciting stars square off for the very first time?
