Former Strawweight King Jarred Brooks Seeks A Fresh Start Against Veteran Tatsumitsu Wada
The last time Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks felt truly at home, he was ruling the strawweight MMA division. After three straight setbacks, the American is heading back there.
Brooks faces Japanese veteran Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada at ONE SAMURAI 5 on Wednesday, November 18, at Tokyo’s EBARA WAVE Arena Ota. The card is headlined by reigning ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio defending against Keito “Pocket Monk” Yamakita.
Since joining ONE in 2021, Brooks has leaned on suffocating wrestling and relentless pressure to beat Lito Adiwang, Hiroba Minowa, and Bokang Masunyane. That run peaked at ONE 164 in December 2022, when he outworked Pacio over five rounds to take the undisputed belt.
He lost it back to the Filipino by disqualification after an illegal slam in their 2024 rematch, then rebounded by submitting Gustavo Balart in round one for interim gold. Since then, a split-decision loss at flyweight, a second-round TKO against Pacio in their trilogy, and a north-south choke from Mansur Malachiev have followed.
Wada will not make the comeback easy. The former DEEP Flyweight Champion has competed in ONE since 2018, reached the 2019 ONE Flyweight MMA World Grand Prix semifinals, and took Demetrious Johnson the full distance.
The Japanese veteran returned to winning ways at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April, edging Seiichiro Ito by split decision for the 27th win of his career. He now drops to strawweight with a career-defining opportunity in front of him.
ONE SAMURAI 5 also gains a heavyweight MMA collision between two Japanese power punchers. Ryugo Takeuchi, a 23-year-old judo black belt who stopped Kang Ji Won in 98 seconds, meets 28-year-old debutant Brandon Hashimoto, whose 8-2 record is built largely on knockouts.
For Brooks, though, the night carries extra meaning. A win over a respected veteran at his best weight would go a long way toward proving his days as a title threat are not behind him.
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