Former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks has never doubted that he is the best fighter in his division, and he’s been trying to find positives in the defeat he suffered in his latest bout.

At ONE 166: Qatar last March, “The Monkey God” sought to cement his reign as king of the division by defending the World Title against former top dog Joshua Pacio in their second meeting.

Jarred Brooks reflects on disqualification

Mere seconds into the bout, Brooks lifted Pacio and slammed him onto the canvas, causing the referee to call for the bell when the Filipino wasn’t intelligently defending himself afterward. The American star began to celebrate empathically, but he was soon crestfallen to learn that the move had been deemed illegal and that he had been disqualified.

Losing the match and the belt in such fashion could be devastating for a fighter’s psyche, but “The Monkey God” now sees the funny side of it.

“It was kind of like your highest moment to your lowest moment. In my career, my losses are comedy, bro. It’s a comedy,” Brooks told SK MMA in an interview.

“I tried to do the Canadian destroyer. I got to stop me when it comes to slams, I guess. No way was that intentional. I don’t want to lose any part of my pay. I don’t want to lose my belt, and I don’t want to lose a lot of things.” 

Brooks’ determination and confidence despite setbacks

So far, the 31-year-old has only lost three fights in his professional career. Along with his disqualification loss to Pacio, he suffered a controversial defeat to former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in 2017, and he knocked himself out with a botched slam against Jose Torres.

Considering the unfortunate circumstances of those results, Brooks remains confident that not many can beat him outright.

In terms of where to go next, the Mash Fight Team man is hungry to work his way back to the top, and he believes he’s better equipped to do it off the back foot than the front.

“You lose a lot of things when you’re not a champion in ONE Championship. But God puts me in a lot of positions where I always have to work back. I always have that underdog mentality, so it actually works in my favor. I get to fight other people,” Brooks said.