Will Brooks explains why one day he 'will be the lightweight champion' in the UFC
On the day Will Brooks signed with the UFC, he immediately had a spotlight on him as a future title contender in the deep and dangerous lightweight division.
Brooks came to the UFC after dominating the 155-pound weight class at Bellator MMA and much like his predecessor Eddie Alvarez, he felt that eventually he needed to move to a new promotion if he truly wanted to claim the throne as the best lightweight in the world.
Unfortunately, Brooks ran into a wall in his most recent fight when he suffered a TKO to Alex Oliveira this past October, which notched his UFC record at 1-1 after only two fights.
Of course, Oliveira came into the fight significantly over the 155-pound weight limit and Brooks suffered a broken rib during the early part of the contest that severely limited his ability to move or breathe comfortably for the remainder of the bout. Still, Brooks felt like he should have been able to pull off the win regardless of the physical ailments that hampered his performance.
"The thing I was more frustrated with was more myself overall," Brooks told the Fight Society podcast about his fight with Oliveira. "Because I believe that I'm an intelligent fighter. That my abilities, regardless of who it is, no matter what weight, my abilities translate to anybody. I should be able to neutralize and beat anybody. My intelligence as a fighter, my fight IQ allows me to do that.
"Oliveira missing the weight by how much he missed, I never thought twice about it. Yeah, it annoyed me because it's the professionalism, it's taking your job serious."
As much as the loss may have been a setback to Brooks eventually challenging for the lightweight title, he's certainly not the first fighter to suffer a defeat early in their UFC career. Funny enough, Alvarez started his run with the UFC with a loss to Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone before reeling off several wins in a row before winning the gold with a dominant performance against Rafael dos Anjos.
Brooks looks at his loss to Oliveira much the same way as nothing more than a learning experience, but make no mistake whether he wins the title this year or after five more fights, he's promises that UFC title will be wrapped around his waist eventually.
"I know it's expected of everybody to say the same thing — 'I'm going to be the lightweight champion' — but I'm not saying this. I believe this," Brooks said. "I'm not saying it because I'm supposed to say it. I'm saying it because I believe it. I know my capability. I know if Will Brooks shows up the night of any competition, before I sign that contract, I know my skills, I know my abilities. I know that I'm able to beat anybody at any point in this game.
"So I'm very, very confident that I will be the lightweight champion at some point. Maybe it's not going to be next week or the week after, but it's going to happen. I just know it. I feel it in my bones."
Perhaps the biggest hurdle that Brooks had to overcome following his last loss and before facing former featherweight Charles Oliveira at UFC 210 was getting his own mind right before stepping into the Octagon.
Brooks admits that his biggest problem since the day he started competing in mixed martial arts has been his inexcusable performances where he only fights to the same level as his opposition.
It's a tale as old as time in professional sports where the most dominant team in any given league will crush the top competition but then somehow fall short when facing an opponent who they are supposed to topple with ease.
Brooks says he's guilty of this exact kind of approach and it's something he's had to adjust alongside his coaches and teammates while preparing for his return to action this weekend in Buffalo.
"I've have had an issue with fighting down to guy's levels. If a guy I felt like or most people would seem like 'well he's not on Will's level', I tend to fight at their level," Brooks said. "So to have a guy like [Charles] Oliveira, who's going to be coming at a high level and he's going to be pushing the pace, that brings out the best in me. I go back to one of the biggest examples of my career. The fight of my career against Michael Chandler. He's one of the better guys that I've ever fought in my career and I believe that type of guy brings the best out of me.
"Guys that are really going to push the pace and come after me and they're going to bring everything that they've got and there's no room to kind of sit back and wait on something to happen and see what's going to happen and kind of coast through. That brings the best out of me."
Brooks has witnessed this same phenomenon amongst other fighters in the UFC but most seem afraid to speak out about those shortcomings. Even Brooks was nervous talking about his worst tendencies going into a fight because it might somehow make him seem cocky that he feels he's so much better than his competition.
"I think a lot of guys are nervous saying that. I know for me for a long time, I was nervous to say that I'm fighting down to guy's levels. I think it's because it may sound a little arrogant," Brooks explained. "It may sound like you're boasting. But it's the honest truth.
"You can watch it and see it in some of these fights. We can see as fans. I'm a fan of the sport."
Brooks hopes he's fixed those problems ahead of his next fight because he didn't come to the UFC just to collect a paycheck and fight on a bigger stage.
He signed a deal with the biggest mixed martial arts promotion because Brooks knew he could compete with the best fighters in the world and now it's time to start proving it.
"That's part of the reason I made the switch to the UFC. I could have stayed with my previous organization. I had a great opportunity there. They gave me a great offer that I could have built on but I felt it in my bones that it was time to go," Brooks said. "It's time to do this.
"This is part of the reason why I wasn't hurt by losing, I wasn't devastating by losing, I wasn't upset about losing. Because I still know the game plan. I still see the finish line, I'm just going through the journey. I'm going through the marathon."
Listen to Brooks, along with Gegard Mousasi and Mackenzie Dern, on the latest Fight Society podcast via Soundcloud or download and subscribe to the show via iTunes.
