KEY POINTS

  • Jarred Brooks is aware of the challenge that Hiroba Minowa possesses when they face each other
  • Brooks defeated Joshua Pacio's teammate Lito Adiwang at ONE: NextGen III last November
  • Pacio made it clear recently that he wants no part of Brooks' mind games

Jarred Brooks is fully focused on a date with reigning strawweight king Joshua Pacio for his title, but he is not looking past his current matchup against No. 4-ranked Hiroba Minowa.

“Minowa’s a good fight for me. He’s young. I think that would be a good test for me, fighting somebody that’s in the top four that’s compatible. We both beat Lito [Adiwang]. We had the same opponent, and he beat Alex Silva too. He beat two of the top guys," Brooks remarked as quoted by ONE Championship.

"I think that it’s only right that we do that first and then make that pretty boy [Joshua Pacio] look a little uglier."

Brooks put on a strong debut with the Singapore-based promotion last November at ONE: NextGen III, forcing Pacio’s teammate Lito Adiwang to tap to an arm-triangle choke in the middle of the second round.

Since deciding to become a professional fighter in 2014, the MMA veteran has fought against competitors that carry a multitude of styles and disciplines before landing with ONE Championship, which makes him an absolutely credible threat.

Minowa is the No. 3-ranked Brooks’ next challenge in the organization, and the 28-year-old American made it clear that he needs to get past him first before facing Pacio.

The 22-year-old Minowa is currently carrying a six-fight win streak that started before he joined the Singapore-based outfit and will look to extend that to seven in the hopes of fighting for the title himself.

Both men are highly-technical grapplers, with Brooks having a slight advantage due to his otherworldly wrestling abilities that keep his opponents in troublesome positions on the ground.

Pacio has previously stated that he is not going to play along with Brooks’ mind games and trash-talking as it is simply not in his nature to give in to such pre-fight antics.

“I’m in the top three. I can do whatever I want. I feel like I’m free-range out here, man. So yeah, watch out, top five–anybody in this strawweight division. I feel like I’m a man on a mission. I’m seeing tunnel vision. I’m here for it, man,” Brooks proudly declared.

Minowa and Brooks will meet on the lead card of ONE: Only The Brave on January 28.

A post shared by instagram

RELATED STORIES