New Strawweight King Jarred Brooks Warns Potential Challengers After Title Triumph At ONE 164

Newly minted ONE Strawweight World Champion Jarred Brooks has never been short of words, and he's already sending a message to the division he now reigns over.

"The Monkey God" captured the strawweight belt on 3 December, outpointing longtime titleholder Joshua Pacio over five rounds at ONE 164.

The showdown followed a long campaign of trash talk by Brooks towards the Filipino superstar. According to the American star, it was all a part of his strategy.

"You have to approach the fight game like it's mental warfare and physical warfare. So yeah, it's just a way of getting in your opponent's head. And that's how you win fights at the end of the day," he said.

Now the hunter becomes the hunted, and it's all eyes on the new divisional king. Never one to take a backward step, Brooks is wasting no time sounding off on any potential challengers.

"Do you think that you have an advantage against me? I've already outthought you, and I've already paid attention to you. And you know, I've been stalking your social media for the past year and a half. So, I already know you. And hopefully, you get to know me a little bit better," he warned.

"If you've watched my last fight, I'm a magician. I'll change things as quickly as possible against you."

Now that he occupies the strawweight throne, Brooks has been surveying the landscape. And one contender that has his attention is surging Filipino star Jeremy Miado.

"The Jaguar" has won four-straight fights inside the Circle, all by knockout, and Brooks is prepared to welcome his challenge if he's up first.

"You have Jeremy Miado. He's really good. He's tall, has great boxing, got his wrestling a little bit better too, and his jiu-jitsu is not bad. So, I think Jeremy Miado would be a good matchup," he said.

Prior to dropping his World Title to Brooks, Pacio had reigned over the strawweight division for three-and-a-half years. "The Passion" chalked up three successful defenses in that time, which makes him a solid case for an immediate rematch.

Brooks is open to running it back with his rival, and he'd like to do it in his backyard.

"If they wanted to give Josh a rematch, that's perfectly fine. So it'd be a good story. I went to The Philippines for him and his own country. He comes to the United States on 5 May, and fights me in my home country - that'd be cool," he said.

Beyond Miado and Pacio, "The Monkey God" is looking at another opponent in the strawweight top five - #4-ranked Gustavo Balart. With all that said, it's clear the American doesn't feel threatened by any challenger the division has on offer.

"You know, you got Gustavo Balart. That dude's like 4-foot-11, but he's like a mini-Hulk. But at the same time, I feel like I would beat those guys decently easy. Joshua Pacio was definitely the toughest fight in the division," he said.

Source: Media Release