Jarred Brooks got back to his ‘Monkey God’ mindset for trilogy fight with Joshua Pacio in ONE 171’s main event

Jarred Brooks fought twice in 2024 while waiting for Joshua Pacio to recover from the slam on the head that got Jarred DQed and cost him the ONE strawweight crown last year at ONE 164 in Qatar.

Now, the Indiana native will again fly to the Middle East to face his Filipino rival in the main event of ONE 171, but this time they will both be putting belts on the line.

Brooks captured interim gold against Gustavo Balart in August before moving up a weight class and losing a close split decision to Reece McLaren in December.

His focus on bulking to move up in weight during the short time he had to prepare for the fight against the Aussie left him unable to focus on honing his actual skillset, leaving Jarred unable to get into the ‘Monkey God’ alter ego which he thrives in.

“I didn’t have enough time to acclimate into being ‘The Monkey God.’ I was more focusing on gaining weight and trying to lift and try to get bigger for the fight, and not getting better at martial arts.”

Spending more time on drilling actual positions and techniques gives Jarred full confidence that he will be able to implement his gameplan against Pacio, with the big adjustment from the last fight being that Brooks wants to be a perpetual motion machine this time around.

“Sometimes a lot of those times where two technical people are just drilling, somebody’s stalling. Right? So I’ve gotten out of that stalling kind of mindset, and we’ve gone on to on to bigger and better things in the training room,” Brooks said. “It’s just making sure that we can we can keep on moving and keep our feet moving at all times. And if that happens, then I think that I’m smooth sailing. But if you’re a rock in the sand, you know, I’m smaller than a lot of fighters. So if you’re a rock in the sand, you get hit by that rock.”

Being like water is important for Brooks, the former number one senior high school wrestler in the country who transitioned to MMA shortly after school, and the striking style that he leans towards speaks to that.

“I think that Prajanchai would be more of my style just because of his height and how he maneuvers. He’s pretty fast and I really like his style. So I would say Prajanchai, but, besides that, the DiBellas are amazing as well,” Jarred answered when asked which of his peers’ striking styles he would emulate if he had to relearn it again. “The smaller guys are are way, way more technical. But at the same time, you got somebody like Rodtang. Like, you can’t teach heart, and that’s what Rodtang’s style is formed around. He does have a lot of technical aspects about him, I’m not gonna say if the guy doesn’t. But do I think that Prajanchai is technically better than Rodtang? Yes.”

Brooks is ready for whatever his rival may throw at him on Thursday. In fact, he says that Pacio does not even factor into things, because Jarred is so adaptable and can counter him anywhere.

“I win this fight any way that I want. It’s all about adaptability. And if he shows an adaptation, I’ve got to counter that adaptation with something that I can adapt to. So, if I adapt correctly, I think I can I can finish it within the first three rounds.”

Watch the full interview to see the rest, and tune in to ONE 171 on Thursday, February 20th, 2025 to see Jarred Brooks take on Joshua Pacio live from Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.