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While Jarred Brooks is best known for his world-class wrestling, strawweight standout Lito Adiwang believes it would be a big mistake to disregard the former champion's stand-up game.
On Friday, Aug. 2, 'The Monkey God' will return to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok for a chance to once again wrap 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold around his waist.
Meeting streaking Cuban star Gustavo Balart in the ONE Fight Night 24 headliner, the two men will battle it out with the winner emerging as the interim ONE strawweight MMA world champion.
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Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview, Lito Adiwang, who shared the Circle with 'The Monkey God' back in Nov. 2021, offered his take on Brooks' often overlooked striking, saying:
"We saw how he successfully matched up against Joshua during their first fight. He even connected with a left hook that cracked Joshua’s lips."
Brooks bested Adiwang at ONE: NEXTGEN III, earning a second-round submission victory in the first of four-straight wins that would eventually lead him to undisputed gold.
Jarred Brooks determined to book trilogy fight with Joshua Pacio
Unfortunately, Jarred Brooks' reign at the top of the strawweight MMA division was a short one.
After dominating Joshua Pacio at ONE 164 in Manilla, the two ran it back at ONE 166 in Qatar with Brooks favored to retain his title. However, disaster struck less than 60 seconds into the fight when Brooks inadvertently spiked Pacio on the top of his head during a takedown attempt.
The illegal maneuver immediately brought a stop to the bout and Brooks was disqualified. As a result, Pacio was once again crowned the strawweight MMA world champion.
If Brooks can climb back into the win column against Gustavo Balart and bring the interim belt back home to the United States, he will all but guarantee himself a trilogy fight with Joshua Pacio, once 'The Passion' is cleared to return to action.
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, Aug. 2.
