“The only people they can't beat is me” - Jarred Brooks thinking about other strawweight contenders with Joshua Pacio sidelined

With Joshua Pacio sidelined following a torn ACL, former ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks is on the hunt for his next potential opponent. After taking the title from Pacio at ONE 164 in 2022, the two would run it back in March as ONE Championship made its critically acclaimed debut in Qatar with ONE 166.

Sadly, their rematch ended in less than a minute after Brooks lifted Pacio off the ground and unintentionally spiked him on the top of his head — an illegal maneuver that brought about the end of the bout and disqualification for 'The Monkey God'.

Brooks and Pacio are expected to meet in an inevitable trilogy fight, but with 'The Passion' currently laid up, Brooks is looking for another potential opponent in the meantime:

"You know, we got Bokang, I already beat him, he beat Yamakita," Brooks said in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA. "The division is pretty interesting right now as far as like people beating other people. But the only people that they can't beat is me."

See the full interview below:

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There are options available for Jarred Brooks as he waits for trilogy fight with Joshua Pacio

While a fight against Bokang Masunyane makes a lot of sense with both fighters occupying the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the strawweight MMA rankings, it wouldn't exactly be a fresh matchup as 'The Monkey God' submitted Masunyane in the first round of their April 2022 clash.

One fight that would be fresh for Brooks would be a scrap with 37-year-old Cuban standout Gustavo Balart. The 4'11" sensation is riding an impressive four-fight win streak with victories over the likes of Ryuto Sawada, Yosuke Saruta, Alex Silva, and Hiroba Minowa.

Brooks could also find himself matched up with Russia's Mansur Malachiev. The No. 5-ranked contender has won two of his last three fights, the loss coming against current flyweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio