Hiroba Minowa calls his shot, says he will submit Jarred Brooks in the first round

Hiroba Minowa is extremely confident ahead of his highly anticipated showdown with No.3-ranked ONE Championship strawweight Jarred Brooks. So much so that the 22-year-old predicts a resounding victory in his favor. Perhaps even a quick finish if it presents itself.

Hiroba Minowa understands the specific challenges Brooks poses in the Circle. In a recent interview with ONE, Minowa talked about the various ways in which he sees himself emerging victorious.

According to Minowa:

“I think I’ll win by split decision, even if I have a tough time. If there is some luck involved, I may win by KO. I may be able to win by ippon [submission] in the first round. The first thing is to win. I’m planning to win. And when I need to finish, I will do so. It’s the same feeling, as always. My style can work well against an opponent like Brooks if I get into it. If there’s a style to beat Brooks, it’s Minowa’s style.”

The former Shooto strawweight champion understands just how important this next fight is for his world title dreams. Needless to say, the showdown between the two is bound to be a barnburner.

Hiroba Minowa chasing the ONE strawweight world title

The strawweight division is one of the deepest in ONE Championship. The top five features a list of absolute killers. If Hiroba Minowa can defeat Brooks, he will certainly move up the rankings.

Despite Brooks’ incredible pedigree and experience, the 23-year-old Minowa believes he has the necessary tools to derail the American’s hype train.

“His strengths are his wrestling and his body control… also, his takedown ability is great. That was my first impression. What I’m better at is my mixed martial arts ability. If you look at wrestling, grappling, striking, and physicality individually, he’s probably better than me. But I’m stronger in my ability to combine them and make them work together. If you look at my last two fights, you can see that.”

Minowa counts himself as the more complete fighter, which he believes is going to be the difference in this fight.

“In addition to my newaza [ground fighting] skills, I think I’m stronger in striking, escaping, and pounding, and other combinations of techniques. In terms of mixed martial arts, I think I’m the better fighter.”