ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks is expecting to be pitted against emerging divisional rival Mansur Malachiev at some point and he believes the Russian has a skill set that should not be overlooked.
‘The Monkey God’ spoke about it in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA when asked for his thoughts on the Dagestani fighter and a potential match-up against him down the line.
The 31-year-old Mash Fight Team standout said:
“Malachiev has a hard overall style to fight. Long arms, good jab and hook. A lot of people haven’t seen it but the guy has great catch subs if he gets your neck.”
Malachiev was recently in action at ONE Fight Night 25: Nicolas vs Eersel II on Oct. 4, racing to his second straight victory with a decision win over South African Bokang Masunyane in their all-contender clash.
Meanwhile, Jarred Brooks bounced back in his last fight in August, claiming the interim strawweight belt with a first-round submission win over Cuban Gustavo Balart. It came on the heels of the American fighter losing the strawweight gold back in March by way of disqualification (illegal slam) to Filipino rival Joshua Pacio.
Brooks is now hoping to get a unification bout against Pacio once ‘The Passion’ is fully healed from the knee injury he suffered.
Jarred Brooks says Mansur Malachiev’s latest win left much to be desired
While taking note of the skills of Mansur Malachiev, Jarred Brooks believes that the Russian’s latest victory over Bokang Masunyane at ONE Fight Night 25 on Oct. 4 left much desired.
Brooks said Malachiev was not truly convincing in the win, even suggesting that his opponent might have won it. He told Sportskeeda MMA in an interview:
“I thought Bokang had it. Mansur has these close fights all the time.”
Malachiev won over Masunyane by decision but not after having to dig deep with ‘Little Giant’ putting up a tough stand. The win was the third in four fights to date under ONE Championship for the Dagestani fighter, setting him up for a collision with the division’s top dogs, Brooks (interim champion) and Joshua Pacio (reigning champion next.
