ONE Championship’s stacked strawweight MMA division will be getting some much-needed movement while it awaits the return of reigning king Joshua “The Passion” Pacio.

On Friday, August 2, former titleholder Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks will take on Gustavo “El Gladiador” Balart for the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Championship in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24 on Prime Video inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jarred Brooks is back at the title run once again

Pacio has been ruled out indefinitely because of injury and will thus be unable to defend his crown. So, with a healthy collection of hungry contenders ready for their shot, the world’s largest martial arts organization decided to introduce an interim belt.

Since he arrived in the promotion in 2021, Jarred Brooks has dominated every competitor put in front of him. He made a statement in his first match, taking out knockout artist Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang at ONE: NEXTGEN III, and went on to defeat two ranked fighters in the division to earn a shot at Pacio’s World Title at ONE 164 in December 2022.

The American star continued his incredible run by edging the Filipino superstar to claim the prestigious strap that evening – but things went awry when they rematched at ONE 166: Qatar this past March.

The much-anticipated match ended with a disqualification after less than a minute when Jarred Brooks slammed Pacio’s head to the ground in what was deemed to be an illegal move. Though it was unintentional, the win was awarded to Pacio, and he reclaimed the divisional crown as a result.

‘The Monkey God’ has a challenge in front of him now

Now, “The Monkey God” has a golden chance to take the interim World Title and cement himself as a top contender. However, he’ll have to take out an undeniable force to do so.

Balart is a former Olympic wrestler who is the #3-ranked strawweight MMA contender. He is currently riding high on a four-fight win streak and has victories over notable stars like former World Champions Alex Silva and Yosuke Saruta to his name.

His latest victory came at the expense of #4-ranked Hiroba Minowa at ONE 165 this past January.

“El Gladiador” is one of only two top fighters Brooks has yet to test his skills against at strawweight, so fans can bet both men will be out to determine who is worthy of a shot at Pacio at ONE Fight Night 24.