ONE Championship: Jarred Brooks faces high-stakes crossroads against Mansur Malachiev
With the title ramifications spanning two divisions, former strawweight king vows to ‘out-wrestle’ the dangerous Russian
Jarred Brooks has never been short on confidence, but for the first time in his ONE Championship run, he enters a fight with genuine pressure on his shoulders.
After moving up to flyweight and losing a split decision to Reece McLaren last December, the mixed martial arts fighter returned to strawweight and was beaten by long-time rival Joshua Pacio in their trilogy bout at ONE 171: Qatar in February, surrendering the title.
Now, as he prepares to face Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 36 in Bangkok on Saturday, the American understands the stakes.
“If I beat Mansur Malachiev and get back into the title picture against Joshua Pacio, yeah, I really do and I mean that,” Brooks told the Post. “Lose, and that’s on me. Accountability is everything.”
Malachiev’s credentials are serious. A lifelong wrestler from Dagestan in Russia, he made a seamless transition to MMA in 2014, winning his debut by first-round kimura. From there, he went 10-0 on the Russian circuit with an 80 per cent finishing rate and became a two-division champion in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC.
Since joining ONE Championship, he has won three of his four bouts and is currently on a two-fight win streak, his only loss coming against Pacio.