Anyone who follows mixed martial arts knows that MMA math doesn’t always add up, but Jarred Brooks seems to think it’s on the money ahead of his fight with Hiroba Minowa.
Brooks (17-2) and Minowa (13-2) meet Friday at “ONE Championship: Only the Brave” in a key strawweight bout from Singapore Indoor Stadium. Both men will come into the fight on winning streaks, with Brooks, 28, having won four consecutive and 22-year-old Minowa seven.
Among those streaks is a victory each against Lito Adiwang, but there’s a difference in those results: Minowa won by narrow split decision in November 2020, while Brooks submitted Adiwang with a second-round arm-triangle one year later in November 2021.
Another feather in Brooks’ cap? He arguably defeated current UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo when they fought in October 2017 at UFC Fight Night 119, but Brooks ultimately lost a split decision in Brazil.
Brooks made sure to remind Minowa of all that while on a joint-conference call ahead of their fight.
“I mean, I’ve been beating some of the best of the best in the world,” Brooks said. “I mean, you got the UFC champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, that I completely toyed around with. Deiveson is almost exactly like a weak Lito Adiwang as far as power and striking goes. I’ve definitely put out the layout for everybody that needs to beat your typical striker. Plus, Deiveson Figueiredo is a way better jiu-jitsu practitioner than Lito Adewang, and you about got tapped out by Lito Adewang. And by the way, you do look pretty good, you do look big, but I would look big in a 10-year-old’s clothing, as well.”
Minowa’s response? “Thanks for the warning. We’ll see how it goes,” he said through an interpreter.
That was one small contentious exchange in what was otherwise a cordial 21 minutes together.
“Jared, seems like we’re both in good condition, you know, best condition, so let’s put on a good fight,” Minowa said.
“Hey, I am more than prepared, brother,” Brooks responded. “I would say best of luck to you, but I can’t.”
“Well, let’s see who will be smiling at the end after the fight. I’m looking forward to it,” Minowa said.
Bottom line: Brooks, who went 2-2 during his lone UFC stint, expects Hiroba to be at his best Friday and hopes for nothing less.
“I think Hiroba is a very tough test for me,” Brooks said. “He has a lot of good qualities about him, a little bit Jared Brooks-esque. He reminds me of a younger me, for sure. He has a lot of really good tests that have been put in front of him, and he’s done good with those tests. I’m looking forward to, on Friday, seeing how he feels. And I want to be surprised. I don’t want to feel that weakness, anything like that. I want to feel like like he’s strong, like I actually have a true test in front of me. So, yeah, Hiroba, I’m glad that I get to fight you.”
Jarred Brooks confident for specific reason ahead of ‘ONE Championship: Only the Brave’