Jared “The Monkey God” Brooks won the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Title last Friday when he took out the streaking Gustavo “El Gladiador” Balart in the first round of their main event clash at ONE Fight Night 24 inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The American once again asserted his dominance on the ground by defeating a former Olympian in his own game and did it in a relatively easy manner. After his brilliant performance, Brooks was asked by Sportskeeda MMA’s Nic Atkin about his thoughts on potentially facing another ground specialist in free agent Muhammad Mokaev.

“I am a Dagestani killer at the end of the day. I don’t think he has the mentality of a champion,” he said. “I think he believes he’s better than he actually is. So, if he does come down to ONE Championship, I will show him what a real champion is.”

Muhammad Mokaev has been the subject of intense MMA speculation recently. Despite securing a seventh consecutive victory in the last fight of his UFC contract at UFC 304, the promotion surprisingly opted not to renew his deal. This unexpected decision has ignited widespread curiosity about the talented young fighter’s next career move.

However, apart from speculations, there has been no word on ONE Championship’s interest in Mokaev. What is set in stone, though, is a trilogy bout between Brooks and reigning divisional king Joshua “The Passion” Pacio that will determine an undisputed top dog in the strawweight MMA ranks. 

Jarred Pacio’s next stop: ONE World Title fight

Jarred Brooks kicked off his promotional run in ONE by winning three consecutive fights, earning him a World Title opportunity against then ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio. The Mash Fight Team representative Brooks won the title via unanimous decision after a brilliant five-round war, but his reign was short-lived. In their rematch at ONE 166: Qatar in March 2024, Brooks was ruled to have used an illegal slam on Pacio which resulted in a disqualification. It also handed the belt back to the Filipino fighter. 

Now, with his recent win against Gustavo Balart, Jarred Brooks is back in the game and has caught the attention of Pacio, who has expressed excitement for the unification fight while also issuing a warning. He wrote, “Congratulations @the_monkeygod for that 1st round submission. And for your Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Happy for you man 15 years of jiu-jitsu grinding paid off. I’ll heal up and I’ll See You Soon!”

However, this trilogy is still some way off as Joshua Pacio is recovering from an ACL injury. The exact timeline for Pacio’s return remains uncertain, but he will surely be in a barnburner of a fight in his return with a highly motivated Brooks waiting for him.