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Jarred Brooks' disqualification loss to Joshua Pacio is arguably the most difficult loss he had to endure in his brilliant career.
Although everything that transpired was an accident, Brooks' head spike of Pacio at ONE 166 was ruled an illegal move, and he consequently relinquished the ONE strawweight MMA world title to his Filipino rival.
Nevertheless, Brooks maintained a dogged determination on his path back to the throne room.
Jarred Brooks wrote on Instagram about his psyche heading into his matchup against Gustavo Balart for the ONE interim strawweight MMA world title at ONE Fight Night 24.
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"Never give up on your dreams ladies and gentlemen! We are all stars, but the ones that don't give up are the ones that will be remembered and revered! Love y'all and please tune in to my fight AUGUST 2 @primevideo card starts at 8pm #onefightnight #onechampionship @onechampionship"
Brooks and Pacio have one of the most intense rivalries in ONE Championship, and their matchup at ONE 166 in Qatar would've served as another chapter in their heated feud.
Things, however, quickly ended when Brooks accidentally slammed Pacio on his head in the first round.
Brooks initially thought he retained the ONE strawweight MMA world title but referee Herb Dean immediately informed him the slam was illegal and that Pacio would be the new world champion.
'The Monkey God' now has a chance for interim gold when he faces Balart on August 2, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.
ONE Fight Night 24 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Jarred Brooks says he can't be complacent against Gustavo Balart
Jarred Brooks knows he'll always be in an absolute scrap every time he steps inside the cage, including his looming showdown against Gustavo Balart.
The Cuban Olympic wrestler is the third-ranked strawweight MMA contender and is riding an impressive four-fight winning streak.
In an interview with FightWave, Brooks said:
"Gustavo is a pitbull though. You gotta watch out. He'll throw a million strikes that are coming at you at a million miles an hour, and they're powerful in every minute of that fight."
