“Trying to be there for my daughter” - Jarred Brooks shares the struggles of being a new dad while training for Joshua Pacio

American fighter Jarred Brooks lost the ONE strawweight MMA world title in his last fight in March, at a time, he said, when he was adjusting to being a new father and being there for his family.

'The Monkey God' touched on this in an interview with ONE Championship, in line with his scheduled match at ONE Fight Night 24 on Aug. 2 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Brooks, 31, shared that it was not easy attending to the needs of his newborn child while also preparing for a title defense, saying:

"It was really rough cause she was just turning three months right when that title fight came around. So the whole camp was literally just trying to be there for my daughter and my wife and trying to focus on training while trying to focus on my baby's health."

Jarred Brooks lost the strawweight belt to Filipino rival Joshua Pacio by disqualification after he executed an illegal slam in the opening round that saw his opponent hit the canvas head first. It is something he is now looking to redeem himself from at ONE Fight Night 24, where he vies for the interim strawweight world title.

In the event, he is going up against veteran Cuban fighter Gustavo Balart, who unfortunately is ineligible to claim the interim belt after failing hydration and missing weight during the official weigh-ins on Thursday in Bangkok.

ONE Championship is holding an interim strawweight championship match with Pacio out indefinitely for the ACL injury he suffered even before he took on Brooks.

ONE Fight Night 24 will be available live and for free on U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Jarred Brooks looks to have a definitive finish against Gustavo Balart with his striking

Following a premature ending to his last fight where he lost the ONE strawweight world title by disqualification, Jarred Brooks is looking to have a definitive finish in his favor at ONE Fight Night 24 on Aug. 2 with his striking.

He made his intentions known to ONE Championship ahead of his bid to claim the interim strawweight belt against Cuban opponent Gustavo Balart, saying:

"He's (Balart) very beatable. You could catch him with a kick to the body or a kick to the head. I think the kicks are going to be a big factor in this fight."

The Jarred Brooks-Gustavo Balart contest is the headlining match at ONE Fight Night 24, done as reigning divisional king Joshua Pacio is expected to be out for some time to recover from an ACL injury.