Jeremy Miado Booted Off ONE Strawweight Rankings As Gustavo Balart Enters

ONE Championship recently updated its rankings, which saw the strawweight title picture make some changes.

Fearsome wrestler Jarred Brooks became the No. 1 strawweight after submitting Bokang Mansunyane at ONE 156 last April 22.

The win gave Brooks the opportunity to try and crack the code that is division kingpin Joshua Pacio when the promotion inevitably announced their long-awaited matchup.

Cuban spitfire Gustavo Balart saw himself enter the strawweight rankings at the No. 4 spot following his strong unanimous decision victory over then-No. 3-ranked Yosuke Saruta.

As it stands, the division looks like this:

• Strawweight Champion: Joshua Pacio
• No. 1: Jarred Brooks
• No. 2: Bokang Mansunyane
• No. 3: Hiroba Minowa
• No. 4: Gustavo Balart
• No. 5: Yosuke Saruta

Balart’s entrance into the top five of the division comes at the expense of then-No. 5-ranked Filipino striker Jeremy Miado, who had forced his way into the rankings for the first time in his career after defeating fellow countryman Lito Adiwang at ONE X on March 26.

After starting his stint in the organization with a record of 0-3, Balart has rattled off two-straight wins and has made it clear that he wants to go after the strawweight title sometime soon.

“Now I’m the No. 4 in the division, which should give me the chance to fight for the title. There is no doubt, my next fight should be for the strawweight title. This is the only thing I’m focusing on, and I’m confident I will make it,” he said following his victory over Saruta.

His wait for a world title shot will have to wait for a while since Brooks challenging Pacio is going to be the fight that the Singapore-based outfit would want to make first since their heated history has the potential to be a barn-burner of epic proportions.

On his end, Balart will need to prove that he deserves to stay in the elite of the stacked division by taking on Mansunyane, Hiroba Minowa or even Miado himself down the road.

Balart entering the rankings should be no surprise to anyone who has witnessed his last fight, but the burden of proof of becoming a title contender lies solely on his upcoming fights.