Gustavo Balart’s Olympic Roots Met a Stern ONE Test
Gustavo Balart faced Jarred Brooks at ONE Fight Night 24 in Bangkok on August 3, 2024, local time. Brooks won by rear-naked choke at 4:39 of the first round, ending the Cuban Olympian’s appearance in the interim strawweight championship main event.
A wrestling foundation in Cuba
Balart began Greco-Roman wrestling at seven and learned from his father, a former Cuban national-team wrestler. He credited his father’s coaching and encouragement with helping him reach the sport’s highest international levels.
He won gold at the 2011 Pan American Games and represented Cuba at the London 2012 Olympics. After his wrestling career, he moved into professional MMA and eventually joined ONE Championship.
The championship conditions changed
Before the Brooks contest, Balart missed the championship weight limit. ONE announced that the fight would proceed at a 126-pound catchweight, with only Brooks eligible to claim the interim belt.
Balart therefore entered a main event whose title opportunity had changed at the weigh-in. A victory for him would have left the interim championship unawarded.
Brooks secured the finish
At Lumpinee Stadium, Brooks quickly took the action to the canvas and established back control. Balart defended the submission attack before Brooks completed the rear-naked choke near the end of the opening round.
The win made Brooks interim champion and positioned him for another meeting with Joshua Pacio. For Balart, the defeat followed a career path stretching from Cuba’s wrestling program and the Olympic mats to elite international MMA.
Sources
- ONE Championship: Balart’s father, wrestling development and Olympic background
- ONE Championship: missed weight and championship eligibility
- ONE Championship: Brooks’s submission and interim title victory
