“Every time Lito loses, they have an excuse” - Jarred Brooks blasts Coach Mark Sangiao, Team Lakay

ONE strawweight Jarred Brooks is no stranger to criticism and heat from opposing camps being hurled his way. And the 28-year-old Indiana native knows exactly how to fire back.

Fresh off a submission victory over Team Lakay’s Lito ‘Thunder Kid’ Adiwang at ONE: NextGen III late last month in his ONE Championship debut, Jarred Brooks answered criticism for playing up what appeared to be an illegal strike.

The bout was paused midway after ‘The Monkey God’ complained of being struck in the groin by a low kick from Adiwang. The sequence caused a shift in momentum in Jarred Brooks’ favor, and the American ended up winning via arm triangle choke in round two.

Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao, in particular, told Philippine media that after reviewing the fight, he felt it was not an illegal shot and criticized Jarred Brooks for making it appear that it was.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Jarred Brooks responded to Sangiao’s claims:

“Well, I mean, that's been said the whole time, right? He's been saying that, every Filipino fan is going and saying that too.”

“Nothing against Team Lakay, okay, but it seems like every time Lito loses, they have an excuse. Like the last time with [Hiroba] Minowa, I don't think Minowa necessarily tapped. It didn't look like he tapped.”

“Mark [Sangiao] is a great coach but just stick to coaching.”

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Jarred Brooks sets the record straight

A stickler for controversy, Jarred Brooks wants to set the record straight for anyone who tries to take away from his performance against Adiwang.

‘The Monkey God’ says the strike was clearly illegal and the replays prove it.

“So, I don't want to come out in the open and say that I'm dominating somebody, but yeah, I was dominating him the whole time. I had him in a front headlock, and you can hear the cup. So I'm like, ‘What are they talking about here?’ You see my face after too. Yeah, he kicked me in the leg with a shin, but he kneed me in the groin.”

Jarred Brooks told Sangiao and his team to stop making excuses for Lito Adiwang.

“I dominated your boy, and I think you're just mad about it. You want to make every excuse in the book why it happened, like why it didn't go your way. I mean, if it happened to me, I would have still been in good graces. I would have still been like, ‘Lito, you did a good job. You went out and did your job.’”