Former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks. Handout/ONE Championship

MANILA -- Top-ranked contender Jarred "The Monkey God" Brooks has no doubt that he will hurdle the challenge posed by Gustavo "El Gladiador" Balart when they dispute the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 3. 

A victory for Brooks will set up a trilogy bout against ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua "The Passion" Pacio, who is currently sidelined by a knee injury. 

The Filipino had reclaimed his title at ONE 166: Qatar in March in unusual fashion: Brooks was disqualified barely a minute into the match after he slammed Pacio on his head, an illegal move in mixed martial arts.

An immediate rematch was put on ice because Pacio is dealing with an ACL tear -- an injury he suffered even before he fought Brooks. 

READ: Joshua Pacio out indefinitely with ACL injury

READ: Joshua Pacio reclaims ONE title as Jarred Brooks disqualified

"Things happen in life and you just have to adapt. Just like in a fight, somebody kicks you in the head, you got to adapt and kick harder and try to win that personal fight," Brooks said. 

"My biggest opponent has always been me. I think that me conquering myself as a man, and my ego and pride and all that stuff, it's gonna either bump me off or break me down. But I'm willing to put my nuts on the table and I always have," he added.

"I love mixed martial arts, and I love my family even more, so I can't wait to represent in Thailand on August 3."

While he has accepted that he must first take a detour before he takes on Pacio again, a trilogy bout against the Filipino star remains the goal for Brooks -- who intends to settle the score regardless of where the fight takes place.

"We both know that we're on the tracks of running into each other again, and I think he is gonna be working very diligently and very hard to keep that belt once and for all. But I got to come through and snatch that again. Might be in the Philippines or in the United States, we'll see what happens," he said.

In the meantime, his focus is on Balart, although he acknowledges the challenge that the former Olympian from Cuba poses.

"I want to get it done as soon as possible. The way that I thought about it the whole time, we've been booked for five months, so we've had a lot of preparation, a lot of incubation in understanding what he's doing. [I'm] super happy to go out and show and perform the way that I want to," he said.

"I want it to be a first-round knockout, every fighter wants a first-round knockout. But Gustavo has proven again and again and again that in the second and third round, he gasses. And I'm gonna get him in the corner and I'm gonna bully him and I'm gonna make him feel like the younger brother even though he's older than me," he vowed.

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