“That was a crazy thing that happened” - Jarred Brooks grateful for a second chance to be world champion

In less than a week, Jarred Brooks is heading to conquer another challenge in his path.

'The Monkey God' aims to once again claim the golden belt that he lost in the hands of ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio after a disqualification due to unintentional headspike.

This time, he will be facing Cuba's Gustavo Balart for the interim title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24 on August 2.

In a sense, Brooks and Pacio have created one of the most heated rivalry in ONE Championship, which culminated in Qatar earlier this year. However, it ended in a sour note for the American after he was disqualified.

He shared his feelings about coming back into the competition to FightWave in a recent interview:

"Getting the chance to come back and show the world what I’m about, and that was a crazy thing that happened, but getting to show the world that I am the best strawweight and the best flyweight in the world, period, in ONE Championship, that’s all that matters to me."

Should Brooks have his ways over Balart, he will secure a unification match and a trilogy with his biggest rival Pacio.

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Jarred Brooks aims for a knockout over Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24

Despite being a formidable grappler, Jarred Brooks also has strong punches that he wants to use when facing former Olympic wrestler Gustavo Balart this Friday inside the Lumpinee Stadium.

Speaking to ABS-CBN, Brooks reiterated his determination to mark his first knockout victory in ONE Championship over Balart on August 2.

He said:

"I want it to be a first-round knockout, every fighter wants a first-round knockout. But Gustavo has proven again and again and again that in the second and third round, he gasses."

ONE Fight Night 24 is available live and free in U.S. primetime to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.