Willie Love Brooks (born October 8, 1986) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

division. A professional competitor since 2011, he is the former Bellator MMA Lightweight World Champion, and has also competed for

DREAM A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

, the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promo ...

and the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Brooks grew up in Chicago projects in a broken home with his parents struggling with their demons. After getting kicked out of several schools due to fighting, he took up wrestling at

Warren Township High School Warren Township High School (WTHS), or Warren, is a public four-year high school located in Gurnee, a northern suburb of Chicago, in Lake County, in Illinois. Because of size of the student body, the school is split across two campuses: the O'Pla ...

, but his main focus was playing football. Excelling in football during high school, he ended up going to college to play at

Harper College William Rainey Harper College is a public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college movement in the U ...

, where he was an All-American in his first year. However, he let go of his dreams of playing in the NFL after sustaining a knee injury, which led to partying, substance abuse and eventually drug dealing. During his time in Harper, he met an old friend from high school in Nick Redding, who ended up changing the course of his life to MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

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

organization. He faced experienced veteran

Satoru Kitaoka , is a Japanese shoot wrestler and mixed martial artist who most recently competed for RIZIN. A professional competitor since 2000, he has also competed for DREAM, Pancrase, DEEP, and World Victory Road. Kitaoka is renowned for his catch wrest ...

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.

Bellator Season 8 Lightweight Tournament

For his debut, Brooks was entered into the Bellator Lightweight Tournament. He faced

Ricardo Tirloni Ricardo Tirloni (born February 3, 1983) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Tirloni has fought in various promotions, including Bellator, the MFC, and Pancrase ...

in the opening round at

Bellator 87 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

and won the fight via unanimous decision. He faced

Saad Awad Saad Awad ( ar, سعد عوض , born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist competing in Bellator's lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Awad has formerly competed for Strikeforce and King of the Cage. Backg ...

in the semi-finals at Bellator 91 on February 28, 2013, 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 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

on July 31, 2013.

Bellator Season 9 Lightweight Tournament

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, 2013, at

Bellator 101 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

. He won the fight in dominant fashion via unanimous decision. Brooks had a rematch with

in the semifinal round at

Bellator 105 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

on October 25, 2013, and dominated the fight for all three rounds, winning a unanimous decision victory. Brooks faced

Alexander Sarnavskiy Alexander Sarnavskiy (russian: Александр Сарнавский, born January 17, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Sarnavskiy has mostly competed i ...

in the finals at Bellator 109 on November 22, 2013. He won the fight via dominant unanimous decision to earn a future title shot at the Lightweight title.

Title shot and championship reign

On May 17, 2014, Brooks faced

Michael Chandler Michael Chandler (born April 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, Chandler first gained n ...

filling in for the injured champ

Eddie Alvarez Edward "Eddie" Alvarez (born January 11, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight (170 lb) division of ONE Championship. He also formerly competed in the UFC and Bellator MMA, winning world titles ...

Bellator 120 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

for the Interim Bellator Lightweight Championship. He won via split decision to become the Interim Bellator Lightweight Champion. With Bellator Lightweight Champion

leaving the promotion, Brooks faced

in a rematch at

Bellator 131 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

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 David Hendrik Jansen (born August 21, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Jansen has also formerly competed for the WEC and M-1 Global. Backg ...

at Bellator 136 on April 10, 2015. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Brooks made his second defense against

Marcin Held Marcin Held (born January 18, 1992) is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut, Professional Fighters League, a ...

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. On May 14, 2016, Brooks was released from Bellator MMA as the promotion decided not to renew his contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On June 15, 2016, it was announced that Brooks had signed a six-fight deal with the UFC. He made his promotional debut against Ross Pearson on July 8, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. Brooks won the fight by unanimous decision. Brooks next faced

Alex Oliveira Alex de Oliveira (born February 21, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born and raised in Três Rios, Rio de Janeiro, Oliveir ...

on October 1, 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 96 ''UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 96'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on October 1, 2016, at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Background The even ...

. The bout took place at a catchweight of 161.5 lbs, as Oliveira missed weight. Brooks lost the fight via KO in the third round. Brooks faced

Charles Oliveira Charles Oliveira da Silvahttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2014_Results/12-12-14MMA.pdf (born October 17, 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. He currently com ...

on April 8, 2017, at

UFC 210 ''UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2 '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 8, 2017, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Background The event was the second that the UFC has hosted in ...

. He lost the fight by rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Brooks was scheduled to face

Nik Lentz Nik Lentz (born August 13, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the lightweight division. Background Lentz was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Twin ...

on October 7, 2017, at

UFC 216 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However the pairing was scrapped during the weigh-ins for the event, as Lentz was stricken with "medical issues" and deemed unfit to compete. The pairing with Lentz was rescheduled and eventually took take place on November 19, 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 121 ''UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 121'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 19, 2017, at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. Background This ev ...

. Brooks lost the fight via submission in the second round. On February 14, 2018, Brooks announced via social media that he had been officially released from the UFC after a 4 fight stint.

Professional Fighters League

Following his departure from the UFC, Brooks announced he had signed a deal with the

and he would be entering the promotion's one million dollar tournament.

PFL season 2018

In his debut, Brooks faced

Luiz Firmino Luiz is a Portuguese given name that is an alternative form of Luís. It's archaic in Portugal, but common in Brazil. Notable people referred to by this name include the following: People *Luiz Bonfá (1922-2001), Brazilian guitarist and composer ...

at PFL 2 on June 21, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In his second fight in the Lightweight tournament, Brooks faced Robert Watley on August 2, 2018, at PFL 5. He won the fight by unanimous decision and advanced to the playoffs. In the quarterfinal bout Brooks faced

Rashid Magomedov ) Brazilian Killer, Mr. Humble , image = , image_size = 200px , alt = , caption = , birth_name = Rashid Magomedgadzhievich Magomedov , birth_date = , birth_place = Makhachkala, Dagestan AS ...

at PFL 9 on October 13, 2018. The bout ended in a unanimous draw, but Brooks was eliminated from the tournament via first-round tiebreaker. In the end of January 2019, Brooks announced in social media that he became a free agent after the inaugural season of PFL.

Post-PFL career

Brooks was expected to face Abel Trujillo at Battlefield FC 2 on July 27, 2019, but Trujillo was withdrawn from the bout and was replaced by Brooks' teammate

Gleison Tibau Janigleison Herculano Alves, better known as Gleison Tibau (; born July 10, 1983) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League. A professional since 1999, he has competed for ...

. He lost the fight via first-round submission. On March 30, 2020, news surfaced that Brooks had signed a contract with ARES FC. Brooks faced

Steven Siler Steven Scott Siler (born February 15, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2005, he has competed for the UFC, Titan FC, ...

on July 30, 2021 at XMMA 2. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Brooks faced Jose Filho at Art of Scrap 3 on October 30, 2021. He won the bout via rear-naked choke submission in the third round. Brooks faced Rafael Bastos on April 15, 2022 at Art of Scrap 4. He won the fight via TKO due to injury after Bastos broke his leg early in the first round. Brooks faced Luis Peña at XMMA 5 on July 23, 2022. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Personal life

Brooks and his wife have a daughter.

Championships and accomplishments

* Bellator MMA ** Bellator Lightweight Championship (One time; former) ***Two successful title defenses ** Interim Bellator Lightweight Championship (One time; former) ** Bellator Season Nine Lightweight Tournament winner

Mixed martial arts record

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Bellator 91 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

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Drew Dober Andrew Martin Dober (born October 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bella ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Will 1986 births Living people African-American mixed martial artists American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Harper Hawks football players People from Coconut Creek, Florida Bellator MMA champions Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people People from Gurnee, Illinois Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area Mixed martial artists from Illinois

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

DREAM

Bellator MMA

Bellator Season 8 Lightweight Tournament

Bellator Season 9 Lightweight Tournament

Title shot and championship reign

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Professional Fighters League

PFL season 2018

Post-PFL career

Personal life

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links