“I’m the hard route” – Jarred Brooks says Demetrious Johnson should fight him if he wants a real challenge

ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks has called out flyweight counterpart and American legend Demetrious Johnson in an all-champion clash. In doing so, he highlighted how he can provide a true challenge like no other ‘Mighty Mouse’ has faced in ONE Championship.

‘The Monkey God’ shared this in a conversation with MMA journalist Nicolas Atkin on the ONE Championship News podcast, saying he would be a smart choice for Johnson whenever he decides to return to action as a potential fight between them would be a huge draw.

Brooks said:

“I mean, [for] Demetrious it’ll be smart [to fight me]. That's a very smart of making money for Demetrious for sure. But I mean, I'm the hard route but I'm telling you I'm way bigger of a sell.”

Check out what he had to say below:

Jarred Brooks became the ONE strawweight world champion in December 2022 when he dethroned erstwhile world champion Joshua Pacio by unanimous decision.

He tried to become a two-sport ONE world champion in August by challenging ONE flyweight submission grappling title holder Mikey Musumeci in a grappling superfight but fell short, losing by submission.

Johnson, meanwhile, was last in action in his trilogy title fight against Brazilian rival Adriano Moraes in May, successfully defending his world title by unanimous decision.

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Jarred Brooks makes first title defense in a rematch with Joshua Pacio in Qatar

Strawweight MMA king Jarred Brooks will be defending his ONE world title in the promotion’s first-ever live on-ground event in Qatar on March 1. He will stake it against the division’s former champion Joshua Pacio.

It will be coming 15 months after he seized the belt from ‘The Passion’ in December 2022 in front of Pacio’s Filipino fans in Manila.

Jarred Brooks said he is excited to finally defend his world title and vowed to make it another victory over his rival, writing on Instagram:

“WORDS OUT !! I AM DEFENDING MY TITLE IN QATAR MARCH 1st !! I WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME TO THANK MY FANS AND SUPPORTERS FOR YOUR PATIENCE , IN THE LAYOFF I ONLY GOT BETTER AND I PROMISE YOU I WILL FINISH THIS MAN”

Brooks vs. Pacio II is one of two confirmed title fights so far for ONE’s groundbreaking event in Qatar, with the other being the middleweight MMA championship fight between reigning division king Reinier de Ridder and double ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin.