All Gustavo Balart wants is the opportunity to call himself the ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion. And he’ll come closer than ever to doing so in his upcoming ONE Championship outing.
The #3-ranked divisional meets former titleholder Jarred Brooks to contest the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 24 on Saturday, 3rd August, at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and he's ready to reap some reward for all the progress he has made in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
“This is my dream. I have been working for this all my life,” Balart said.
“I worked really hard to be here and the time is now. There is no tomorrow. I am really happy to have this opportunity to fight. That night I am going to give it my all.”
The Cuban wrestling star earned his shot at interim gold after winning his last four fights in ONE. Along the way, he took out two former divisional kings Yosuke Saruta and Alex Silva, and overcame #4-ranked contender Hiroba Minowa in his latest bout at ONE 165 this past January.
There’s little doubt that Balart has the goods. But his upcoming foe, Brooks, has made a name for himself in ONE due to his suffocating pressure and relentless ground game, and he is undoubtedly the most intimidating character in the stacked strawweight MMA division.
However, “El Galdiador” remains unflustered as he believes he has the antidote. His Olympic-level Greco-Roman wrestling skills give him the confidence to say he can handle anything, and he’s ready to hand the former World Champion a rude awakening.
“He is going to try to do what he does best. He likes taking fighters to the ground,” Balart said.
“When he tries to do that to me and realizes that he cannot do it, he will also find out my striking is better than his. It will be the end for him.”
