ONE Championship: Demetrious Johnson’s praise gives Jarred Brooks added inspiration

Bengaluru, April 18: It's no secret that Jarred "The Monkey God" Brooks has had his sights on the ONE Strawweight World Championship since he joined the promotion last year.

He proved his goal wasn't just lip service when he defeated fellow contenders Lito "Thunder Kid" Adiwang and Hiroba Minowa in two months.

Now, five months after his debut, the Michigan native has a shot at moving closer to the gold when he faces top-ranked Bokang "Little Giant" Masunyane at ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on Friday (April 22).

The winner of their showdown at the Singapore Indoor Stadium will likely get the opportunity to face Joshua "The Passion" Pacio for the strawweight belt.

And for Brooks, entering the matchup having drawn praise from an MMA icon and a 12-time flyweight world champion motivates him more to succeed.

"Man, I was ecstatic. I mean, you're talking about the best of all time, the GOAT, Demetrious Johnson," the Mash Fight Team representative told ONEFC.com.

"That's somebody I've looked up to since high school. And what made me want to fight and pursue fighting at a smaller weight class. He was the project, for sure."

When Brooks made his professional debut in 2014, Johnson was already a world champion. And nothing would please him more than to follow in his hero's footsteps.

"I've always wanted to be like DJ. And I have a little DJ likeness to me, I would say that," he said.

But to reach the mountaintop - something Johnson has done numerous times in his career - Brooks must channel some inner "Mighty Mouse" to surpass Masunyane and give the South African his first loss.

For the #2 contender, he looks forward to the challenge.

"I think that I'm the best in the division, no matter what. I mean, you got to go out and prove things," he said.

"But inside of my head and the way I see fight night [against Masunyane], I see my hand getting raised in spectacular fashion."

Source: Media Release