Jarred Brooks Is Back at 125 Pounds for ONE SAMURAI 5 After a Three-Fight Slide
Jarred Brooks returns to ONE’s strawweight ranks, but Tatsumitsu Wada’s assessment of the matchup gives his comeback bout a second storyline.
Jarred "The Monkey God" Brooks is heading back to ONE Championship’s strawweight division for a Nov. 18 meeting with Tatsumitsu Wada at ONE SAMURAI 5 in Tokyo. The promotion confirmed the 125-lb bout on Wednesday. For Brooks, the return comes after three defeats split between strawweight and flyweight.
Tatsumitsu Wada, meanwhile, is clear about how he sees the matchup. He believes Brooks’ forward pressure and wrestling play into his hands, making his comments more than a polite welcome for a former champion.
Brooks’ Last Three ONE Fights Ended in Defeat Across Two Divisions
The first of the three defeats came at flyweight, where Reece McLaren edged Brooks by split decision in December 2024. Brooks returned to 125 pounds for a title-unification bout with Joshua Pacio in February 2025, only for Pacio to stop him in the second round. He moved up again to face Mansur Malachiev that October and was submitted in the second round. The losses have come at two weights, and none has been followed by a win.
There is no title on the line against Wada. Brooks needs a win to give his return to strawweight some momentum; the result matters more than the weight change.
◤🚨 和田竜光 🆚 ブルックス 🚨◢ 百戦錬磨のベテラン和田竜光と 元ONEストロー級世界王者 ジャレッド・ブルックスが対戦🔥 📅 2026年11月18日［水］ 📍 EBARA WAVE アリーナおおた 🎟️ チケットぴあ 好評発売中👉https://t.co/O6MqrtLqd2 📺 U-NEXTで完全独占生配信 #ONESAMURAI5 https://t.co/tXJbWuKrGq
— ONECHAMPJP (@ONECHAMPJP) October 21, 2026
Wada Thinks Brooks’ Aggressive Style Suits Him
Wada’s enthusiasm is clear in the statement ONE released in Japanese on October 21. In its English report, MiddleEasy translated one part of his response this way:
“I think they’ve given me a really exciting, good opponent — my most exciting matchup in recent times.”
The excitement is paired with a specific tactical read. Wada described Brooks as a fighter who presses forward, initiates wrestling, and looks for choke submissions. He believes that approach makes Brooks a favourable matchup for him, even while expecting a hard contest.
Wada’s confidence goes further: in the original Japanese statement, he said he expects to show the world how to beat Brooks. That is his stated ambition, not proof that he has already solved the former champion’s grappling.
Wada last fought at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April, edging Seiichiro Ito by split decision. His second appearance in the Japan series gives him a different test from that fight: a former champion who will be looking to stop a damaging run. On November 18, "The Monkey God" needs to end the skid, while Wada has a chance to make his confident assessment count inside the Circle.
