Jarred Brooks Ready For Strawweight Title Shot After Finishing Bokang Masunyane

Second-ranked strawweight contender Jarred Brooks overthrew top-ranked Bokang Masunyane this past Friday, 22 April, at ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic. Brooks needed only one round inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium to finish his South African foe, securing the win via rear-naked choke only minutes into their bout. 

The emphatic victory undoubtedly puts “The Monkey God” on a collision course with Joshua “The Passion” Pacio for his ONE Strawweight World Championship. No date for their showdown has been set, but the American star plans to continue sharpening his skills in preparation. 

“Personally, I feel like I have a lot to work on, and I want to pursue getting better as well. I [was] only training twice a week, working out four days a week. Now, I have the opportunity to train almost every day, and you guys are going to see that against Joshua Pacio,” Brooks said. 

With the victory over Masunyane, the American improved his record to 19-2 (1 NC), gaining his third straight win in the Circle.

But Brooks has been on the warpath since debuting in ONE last year. Before he defeated Masunyane last Friday, the Michigan native faced two top-ranked contenders in the strawweight division, scoring a submission win over Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang and a unanimous decision over Hiroba Minowa. 

“As you can see, I fought three times in the past six months, it’s going to be four here really soon. My plan is to fight five times by the end of the year, and I’m just going to keep on going through this cycle,” he said. 

Despite having no confirmed date, Brooks has already made his call on how the World Title tussle will go, and the ever-confident strawweight is convinced that he’ll leave the Circle with the gold when he does meet “The Passion.” 

“I see [the fight with Pacio going] like Lito Adiwang, just maybe a little bit easier. Lito is more explosive, but I’d say Joshua is a little bit more technical savvy and has more patience, so we’ll see how that fight goes. But I think it would be similar. I’d choke him out in the first or second round. Hopefully, it’ll be in the next two months. So I can get a World Title and get the big belt,” he said. 

Stay tuned for more fight news, including the upcoming ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot, which goes down on 20 May at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.