Former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks will settle his heated online feud with Mansur Malachiev in a flyweight bout at ONE Fight Night 36: Prajanchai vs. Di Bella II on Friday, October 3, at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
What began as competitive banter between elite grapplers has escalated into personal attacks and threatening messages over the past year and a half. Brooks has been receiving direct messages from Malachiev and his team attempting psychological warfare, though the Russian's limited English has made the exchanges less effective than intended.
Brooks has used the extended buildup to study Malachiev's fighting style extensively, identifying what he considers fundamental flaws in the Dagestani's approach. The American criticizes Malachiev's zombie-like forward movement with hands held high, though he acknowledges the Russian possesses dangerous spinning back kicks and powerful hooks.
The key weakness Brooks has identified centers on Malachiev's cautious nature under pressure and tendency to expose his neck during exchanges. Brooks believes the Russian waits for his turn rather than engaging immediately, creating opportunities for aggressive opponents to capitalize.
"I think that when pressure is being displayed upon him, he waits his turn, and I think that's where I can take advantage of a lot of the fight," Brooks said. "There are a lot of times where, after he gets hit, he wants to shoot, and that just shows me that he's one of those guys who's not willing to trade until the last minute and a half of a fight."
Brooks plans to exploit these perceived vulnerabilities by pressuring his rival from the opening bell. His strategy revolves around preventing Malachiev from settling into his preferred pace while hunting for submission opportunities.
"He leaves his neck out because he is very 'guillotinable'. He likes to tire his opponents out by letting them push forward and try to finish at a pace that he's used to," Brooks said. "But I'm gonna bring a twister full of fists and come at him a million miles an hour, like the old Monkey God that everybody is used to seeing."
The fight represents possible redemption for Brooks following consecutive losses to Joshua Pacio, including their trilogy bout at ONE 171 in February where he lost his strawweight championship. Moving up to flyweight for his second contest in the division, Brooks views this matchup as a fresh start to rebuild his championship aspirations.
Brooks remains determined to eventually reclaim gold and potentially earn another opportunity against Pacio, who faces Yuya Wakamatsu for the flyweight title at ONE 173 in November.
"I did lose. That's OK, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to come back," Brooks said. "Joshua Pacio is still on my hit list."
