ONE Championship rankings update: Gustavo Balart crashes strawweight top five, Jarred Brooks climbs to No 1
- Cuban debuts in strawweight rankings after decision win over former champ Yosuke Saruta at ONE 156 last month in Singapore
- ‘The Monkey God’ now ranked No 1 in the division after defeating Bokang Masunyane by submission at the same event
Gustavo Balart can officially call himself a top-five strawweight.
The 35-year-old Cuban wrestling specialist returned to the ONE Championship Circle on the undercard of the ONE 156 event on April 22 in Singapore, where he picked up a decision victory over former strawweight champion Yosuke Saruta of Japan.
That victory, his second in a row after a decision win over Japanese veteran Ryuto Sawada in July 2021, was enough to push him into the No 4 spot in the promotion’s men’s strawweight MMA rankings. It is his first appearance on the list.
Balart (10-4) was not the only fighter to make a move up the strawweight rankings at ONE 156. On the event’s main card, American star Jarred Brooks, previously ranked No 2, assumed the division’s No 1 contender spot with a first-round submission victory over South Africa’s Bokang Masunyane.
Brooks (19-2), who has previously competed in the UFC, Bellator and Rizin Fighting Federation, is now 3-0 in ONE Championship, with wins over Lito Adiwang, Hiroba Minowa and Masunyane – all of whom were ranked in the strawweight top five when he beat them.
All signs now point to the 29-year-old challenging long-time strawweight champion Joshua Pacio (20-3) for the division’s title.
“I can’t disclose too much, but it’s going to be sooner than later, that’s for sure,” Brooks told the Post of his planned fight with Pacio.