"Pain, agony, sacrifice" - Jarred Brooks on reclaiming 26 pounds of gold after masterful performance vs Gustavo Balart

Jarred Brooks has been through a lot this year but he has continued to push forward in the face of adversity. No one could have expected that he would find himself in this position but coming back stronger is what makes a champion.

After losing his strawweight MMA crown in unfortunate circumstances at ONE 166 earlier this year, Brooks' primary focus was on reclaiming the gold.

Whilst the champion Joshua Pacio is unable to compete due to an injury that he is recovering from, this didn't deter 'The Monkey God'.

One of his best performances to date this past weekend saw him claim the interim world championship after submitting Gustavo Balart in the very first round.

While he made the fight look easy at points by repeatedly taking down a former Olympic wrestler, Brooks has not been given anything about this period of his career.

He reflected on this during his post-fight interview in the ring, where he spoke about the struggles he faced in order to get his hand raised on August 2:

"You have no idea the amount of pain, the agony, the sacrifice that I had to do to get this belt."

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Jarred Brooks continues to improve each time

For a competitor like Jarred Brooks, all of the tough times are worth it when he's able to put on a performance like he did in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24.

He may still have to wait a little longer to unify the division against Joshua Pacio, but becoming the interim champion was a crucial step in his quest to reclaim the belt he once held.

The performance itself was a real statement from Brooks, considering the tough stylistic match-up for him.

His grappling ability was on full display and whilst he wasn't able to showcase his striking, he simply didn't need to on this occasion.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 24 is available on demand from Prime Video subscribers in North America.