In a fight officially billed as a strawweight title eliminator at ONE 156 on Friday, Jarred Brooks got the job done in under a round.
Brooks (19-2, 1NC), a former UFC standout who was victim of that promotion nearly scuttling the flyweight division in 2018, had an unbeaten streak dating back to his final UFC bout. He added to that Friday in Singapore, submitting Bokang Masunyane in a dominant performance.
Brooks and Masunyane clinched early in Friday’s title eliminator, with “The Monkey God” looking to get the fight to the ground. Masunyane fought off the initial attempt, and in fact avoided the takedown, only for Brooks to scale him like a tree, take the back, lock in a body triangle, and go hunting for a rear-naked choke.
Bokang Masunyane at that point was carrying his opponent’s full body weight; Brooks fired short punches to soften up Masunyane. Defending the choke, Masunyane “answered the phone,” and fought hands, but every second that ticked away was more strength sapped from his gas tank. In the final minute, Brooks got under the neck again, and Masunyane was warned for grabbing the fence; when he let go, Brooks pulled him down. The rear-naked choke submission came mere seconds later.
Scaling the fence, Brooks spoke into the camera, addressing ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio. “Who’s coming? Who’s coming Joshua Pacio? Me! It’s me, baby! You better get that sh*t right.”
In his post-fight interview, Brooks admitted that he’d called out the champ twice before — but added that the third time was the charm. “I swear I’m bringing that belt home to the United States. I promise you!”
Official Result: Jarred Brooks def. Bokang Masunyane by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:39
