ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart Preview and Predictions

On Friday, Aug. 2, ONE Fight Night 24 will take place inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The latest Amazon Prime Video event features two world title fights, including 12 bouts in the following disciplines – Muay Thai (6), MMA (4), Kickboxing (1), and submission grappling (1).
In the main event, an interim ONE strawweight MMA world title will be activated due to Joshua Pacio tearing his ACL. The fighters competing for a future chance at undisputed gold are Jarred Brooks, who was dethroned earlier this year by disqualification, and third-ranked Gustavo Balart, who is riding a four-fight winning streak.

As for the co-main event, ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly returns for her first title defense. Kelly will face the toughest challenge of her promotional tenure against Mayssa Bastos, an 8-time BJJ world champion.

ONE Fight Night 24 also features Felipe Lobo vs Nabil Anane (bantamweight Muay Thai), Dedduanflek vs Nakrob (flyweight Muay Thai), Shamil Gasanov vs Aaron Canarte (featherweight MMA), Taiki Naito vs Elias Mahmoudi (flyweight kickboxing), and more.

The event airs live on Amazon Prime Video starting at 8 p.m. ET. Let’s take a look at the preview and predictions for the event.

Jarred Brooks lost his last fight quite controversially; how does he bounce back against a streaking Gustavo Balart?

Jarred Brooks is undoubtedly the most dominant fighter in the ONE strawweight MMA division. Unfortunately, he accidentally spiked Joshua Pacio on his head in their rematch earlier this year, leading to him losing his world title by disqualification. “The Monkey God” now looks to bounce back by taking out Gustavo Balart.

Balart has had quite an interesting promotional tenure. He started with three consecutive losses before bouncing back with his current four-fight winning streak. The Cuban strawweight has an opportunity to complete his comeback story by emerging victorious at ONE Fight Night 24.

Brooks and Balart maintain a grappling-heavy fighting style, with the former possessing the more patient American approach. The Monkey God also arguably has a size and strength advantage, which could pay dividends in a matchup expected to take place on the ground. Brooks should be able to take down Balart and secure a submission win within three rounds.

Danielle Kelly has become a breakout star within the ONE Championship promotion; can she maintain her grappling dominance and defeat Mayssa Bastos?

Danielle Kelly has been nearly unstoppable since signing with ONE Championship. Yet, the reigning ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling queen has only defeated one opponent who actively competes in high-level jiu-jitsu tournaments – Jessa Khan.

At ONE Fight Night 24, Kelly will face someone who’s a multiple-time BJJ world champion who also has experience competing under the ONE banner. Mayssa Bastos made her ONE Championship debut on March 8, defeating Kanae Yamada by unanimous decision.

Bastos shouldn’t be overlooked in Friday’s co-main event. The Brazilian has the experience and confidence needed to pull off an upset against Kelly. The problem is Bastos’ lack of urgency in her ONE debut could be an issue, as the promotion’s ruleset rewards submission attempts. Kelly should be the more action grappler and secure a close unanimous decision win.

Felipe Lobo has lost two of his last three Muay Thai fights; what is his path to victory against Nabil Anane?

Felipe Lobo’s promotional record doesn’t tell the full story. Since signing with ONE, Lobo’s only losses have been against former bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O and current bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty. Lobo possesses a kill-or-be-killed fighting style, which leaves him susceptible to knockout defeats.

Lobo’s latest opponent is Nabil Anane, a 6’4” 20-year-old who somehow fights at bantamweight. Anane started his ONE tenure with a knockout loss against the legendary Superlek before bouncing back with consecutive wins against Nakrob (second-round knockout), Muangthai (unanimous decision), and Kuladam (second-round knockout).

Anane has already shown improvements since his ONE debut in January 2023. With that said, Lobo has fought the tougher competition in the division and has added motivation to bounce back after nearly defeating Haggerty. Fans should expect an all-out war between Lobo and Anane, with the former getting his hand raised due to a second-round knockout win.

Which fight is the sleeper matchup on this card?

The ONE Fight Night 24 sleeper matchup is a flyweight Muay Thai bout between third-ranked Dedduanglek Wankhongohm MBK and unranked Nakrob Fairtex.

In November 2023, Dedduanglek and Nakrob went to war in the ONE Friday Fights 41 main event. Both flyweights had their moments in the fight before Nakrob landed a devastating body punch in round three to secure the knockout win.

Since then, Nakrob has won three more fights, extending his promotional record to 8-1, while Dedduanglek hasn’t returned. At ONE Fight Night 24, the Thai savages will meet again in a must-see matchup to determine who establishes a strong presence in the flyweight division.