Jarred Brooks has taken ONE Championship by storm, with his first two performances drawing rave reviews from fans and pundits across the martial arts world.
The No. 2-ranked strawweight contender even captured the attention of all-time MMA great Demetrious Johnson, who recently said “The Monkey God” has what it takes to become the next divisional kingpin.
Brooks will have a chance to earn that World Title shot when he faces No. 1-ranked contender Bokang Masunyane in the co-main event of “ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic” on Friday, April 22.
As he prepares for the massive clash in Singapore, the 28-year-old said he was honored to receive such glowing praise from a 12-time flyweight world champion in “Mighty Mouse.”
“Man, I was ecstatic,” Brooks said. “I mean, you’re talking about the best of all time, the GOAT, Demetrious Johnson.
“That’s somebody I’ve looked up to since I was in high school and what made me really want to fight and really want to pursue fighting at a smaller weight class. He was definitely the project, for sure.”
Having spent nearly two decades at the top of mixed martial arts, Johnson was already a world champion in 2014 when Brooks made his professional debut.
“The Monkey God” has followed the American legend’s career closely – including DJ’s submission victory over Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE X last month – and as a former wrestler, he sees some similarities between their styles in the ONE circle.
“I’ve always wanted to be like DJ, and I have a little DJ likeness to me – I would say that,” Brooks said.
Brooks can secure title shot with victory over Masunyane
Following dominant wins over fellow contenders Lito Adiwang and Hiroba Minowa, No. 2-ranked strawweight Brooks (18-2) can get closer to the belt if he beats No. 1-ranked Masunyane (8-0) on April 22.
Their showdown is an official ONE strawweight world title eliminator, with the winner next in line to challenge divisional king Joshua Pacio.
But while Brooks has looked impressive in the ONE circle, he’ll have his hands full against Masunyane, an undefeated fighter from South Africa with two explosive victories of his own in ONE Championship.
Still, “The Monkey God” has no qualms about taking on the top dog to earn himself a shot at the gold.
“I think that I’m the best in the division, no matter what,” Brooks said. “I mean, you got to go out and prove things, but inside of my head and the way I see fight night (against Masunyane), I do see my hand getting raised in a spectacular fashion.”
This story first published at ONEFC.com.
