By:  | April 20, 2022 12:03 pm

Jarred Brooks faces Bokang Masunyane at ONE: ‘Reloaded’ this Friday. The American had plenty to say for himself, as always, at the media day.

Brooks has spent a lot of his career at flyweight and been in with the likes of Jose Torres and Deiveson Figueiredo. But since dropping down in weight he has gone undefeated and believes he has done enough to establish himself as the best strawweight in the world,

“I am the best strawweight in the world and nobody’s going to take that away from me. Not Bokang, not Joshua (Pacio), not anybody in the top five… I’ve paid my dues in this division, I’ve fought twice in the last six months and I’m still ready. I still smell blood. I’m coming to grab the title.”

Jarred Brooks about to face Hiroba Minowa at ONE: 'Only the Brave' in the Singapore Indoor Stadium

Flyweight legend

There are 15 fights on the ONE: ‘Reloaded’ card with fighters flying in from all over the world. Brooks got to meet one of his heroes in the buildup to Friday’s event.

Before the fight Brooks bumped into Demetrious Johnson in the hotel. The former UFC flyweight champion is in Singapore to corner James Yang for his fight with Keanu Subba.

Brooks has talked about wanting to return to the flyweight division and potentially fighting Johnson in the future. But he described DJ as ‘the greatest of all time’ and seemed very excited to see him:

All smiles

But while Brooks was all smiles in the presence of DJ he sounded in a more serious mode when discussing his upcoming fight. Masunyane is undefeated and the South African is currently ranked #1 at strawweight.

Brooks, who sits at #2 in the rankings, does not sound too concerned,

“I’m ready for whatever you bring to me, man. At the end of the day, this is a kill or be killed sport, and I’m definitely ready to kill.”

Best wrestling

His opponent comes from a wrestling background and has represented his country on the international stage. Masunyane won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games but Brooks is adamant that he is the best wrestler on the entire ONE Championship roster,

“I’ve been wrestling my whole life, I have the best wrestling in ONE right now. If you try to take my back, anything like that, I’m going to come out guns blazing.”

There doesn’t appear to have been much friction between Masunyane and Brooks in the buildup to the fight. The American is known for going to extreme lengths to upset opponents and even potential opponents.

Hard intentions

Brooks learned a few words of Tagalog in order to insult Joshua Pacio. But he hasn’t even tried to get under Masunyane’s skin and appears to have a healthy respect for the South African.

But Brooks wants to make it absolutely clear that while the two men aren’t currently trading insults the action is going to be intense once they step inside the ONE Championship cage together,

“My intentions are very, very hard intentions towards Bokang. I can sit here and act friendly, but inside I’m ready to go.”