Other names Ill Will Division Lightweight Stance Orthodox Role Mixed Martial Artist Weight 70 kg | Nationality American Reach 71 in (180 cm) Name Will Brooks Height 1.78 m Martial art Mixed martial arts | |
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Born October 8, 1986 (age 37)
Chicago, Illinois, United States ( 1986-10-08 ) Style Freestyle Wrestling, Boxing, Kickboxing Similar People Michael Chandler, Marcin Held, Patricio Freire, Daniel Straus, David Rickels Profiles | ||
Bellator mma foundations with will brooks
Will Brooks (born October 8, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist. He is the current Bellator Lightweight Champion.
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Bellator mma sitdown will brooks
Early career
Brooks took up wrestling in high school, but his main focus was playing football. Excelling in football during high school, he ended up going to college to play at Harper College, in Palatine. At Harper, he met an old friend from high school in Nick Redding, who ended up changing the course of his life to MMA.
Brooks made his professional MMA debut in January 2011. He competed exclusively in his native Illinois and quickly amassed an undefeated record of 7-0 in the first two years of his career.
DREAM
In late 2012, Brooks received the biggest opportunity of his career as he was invited to Japan by the DREAM organization. He faced experienced veteran Satoru Kitaoka at Dream 18 on December 31, 2012. Despite being a heavy underdog, Brooks dominated the fight and won via TKO in the second round.
Bellator MMA
Following his impressive international debut, Brooks was quickly signed by Bellator Fighting Championships in January 2013.
For his debut, Brooks was entered into the Bellator Lightweight Tournament. He faced Ricardo Tirloni in the opening round at Bellator 87 and won the fight via unanimous decision. He faced Saad Awad in the semi-finals and lost via KO in the first round.
Following the first loss of his career, Brooks rebounded with a win over Cris Leyva at Bellator 97 on July 31, 2013.
In the fall of 2013, Brooks entered into the Bellator Season 9 Lightweight tournament. He faced veteran John Alessio in the Quarterfinals on September 27, 2103 at Bellator 101. He won the fight in dominant fashion via unanimous decision.
Brooks had a rematch with Saad Awad in the semifinal round and dominated the fight for all three rounds, winning a unanimous decision victory.
Brooks faced Alexander Sarnavskiy in the finals. He won the fight via dominant unanimous decision to earn a future title shot at the Lightweight title.
On May 17, 2014, Brooks faced Michael Chandler filling in for the injured champ Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 120 for the Interim Bellator Lightweight Championship. He won via split decision to become the Interim Bellator Lightweight Championship.
With Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez leaving the promotion, Brooks faced Michael Chandler in a rematch at Bellator 131 on November 15, 2014 for the vacant Bellator Lightweight Championship. He won the fight via TKO in the fourth round to become the undisputed Bellator Lightweight Champion.
Brooks made his first title defense against long-awaited challenger Dave Jansen at Bellator 136 on April 10, 2015. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Brooks made his second defense against Marcin Held on November 6, 2015 at Bellator 145. Despite Held popping Brooks' knee in the opening round, Brooks continued on and won the fight via unanimous decision to retain the Bellator Lightweight Championship.