Will Brooks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Will Brooks |
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|---|---|
| Born | Willie Love Brooks October 8, 1986 (age 38) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Other names | Ill Will |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg) |
| Division | Lightweight |
| Reach | 72 in (183 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Coconut Creek, Florida, United States |
| Team | Midwest Training Center (2009–2013) American Top Team (2012–present) |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 32 |
| Wins | 26 |
| By knockout | 7 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 13 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 3 |
| Draws | 1 |
Willie Love Brooks (born October 8, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist. He competes in the Lightweight division. He has been a professional fighter since 2011. Will is a former Bellator MMA Lightweight World Champion. He has also fought for other big organizations like DREAM, the Professional Fighters League, and the UFC.
Contents
Early Life and Training
Will Brooks grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He faced challenges early in his life. He found a positive path through sports. Will started wrestling when he attended Warren Township High School.
Even though he wrestled, his main sport was football. He was very good at football in high school. This led him to play college football at Harper College. In his first year there, he was named an All-American. This means he was one of the best players in the country. At Harper College, he met an old friend, Nick Redding. Nick helped Will discover mixed martial arts (MMA). This changed Will's life path.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Starting His Career
Will Brooks began his professional MMA career in January 2011. He fought mostly in his home state of Illinois. In his first two years, he won all seven of his fights. He had an undefeated record of 7-0.
Fighting in Japan: DREAM
In late 2012, Will got a big chance. He was invited to fight in Japan by the DREAM organization. He fought an experienced fighter named Satoru Kitaoka on December 31, 2012. Many people thought Will would lose. However, Will fought very well and won the fight. He won by TKO (Technical Knockout) in the second round.
Joining Bellator MMA
After his impressive win in Japan, Will Brooks signed with Bellator Fighting Championships in January 2013. Bellator is a major MMA promotion.
Bellator Lightweight Tournaments
For his first Bellator fight, Will joined the Bellator Lightweight Tournament. He won his first fight against Ricardo Tirloni by decision.
In the semi-finals, he faced Saad Awad. Will lost this fight by knockout in the first round. This was his first loss as a professional fighter. After this loss, Will won his next fight against Cris Leyva.
Later in 2013, Will entered another tournament, the Bellator Season 9 Lightweight tournament. He won his quarterfinal fight against John Alessio. He won by a clear decision. Will then had a rematch with Saad Awad in the semi-finals. This time, Will dominated the fight. He won by a unanimous decision.
Will then fought Alexander Sarnavskiy in the tournament finals. He won this fight by a clear decision too. Winning this tournament meant he earned a chance to fight for the Lightweight title.
Becoming a Champion
On May 17, 2014, Will Brooks fought Michael Chandler. He was filling in for the injured champion, Eddie Alvarez. This fight was for the Interim Bellator Lightweight Championship. Will won the fight by a split decision. This made him the Interim Bellator Lightweight Champion.
Later, the Bellator Lightweight Champion, Eddie Alvarez, left the company. So, Will Brooks fought Michael Chandler again. This rematch was for the official Bellator Lightweight Championship. Will won the fight by TKO in the fourth round. He became the undisputed Bellator Lightweight Champion.
Will defended his title two times. First, he beat Dave Jansen by unanimous decision. Then, he defended his title against Marcin Held. Even though Held hurt Will's knee early in the fight, Will kept going. He won the fight by unanimous decision. This kept him as the Bellator Lightweight Champion.
On May 14, 2016, Bellator decided not to renew Will's contract. He was released from the promotion.
Fighting in the UFC
On June 15, 2016, Will Brooks signed a deal with the UFC. The UFC is the biggest MMA organization in the world. He made his first UFC appearance on July 8, 2016. He fought Ross Pearson and won by unanimous decision.
His next fight was against Alex Oliveira. Oliveira missed the weight limit for the fight. Will lost this fight by knockout in the third round. Will then faced Charles Oliveira. He lost this fight by submission in the first round.
Will was supposed to fight Nik Lentz in October 2017. But the fight was canceled because Lentz had medical issues. They rescheduled the fight for November 2017. Will lost this fight by submission in the second round.
On February 14, 2018, Will announced that he was no longer with the UFC.
Professional Fighters League
After leaving the UFC, Will Brooks signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL). The PFL has a unique tournament format where fighters compete for a one-million-dollar prize.
PFL 2018 Season
Will's first PFL fight was against Luiz Firmino. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In his second fight, he beat Robert Watley by unanimous decision. These wins helped him move on to the playoffs.
In the quarterfinal round, Will fought Rashid Magomedov. The fight ended in a draw. However, Will was eliminated from the tournament due to a tiebreaker rule. In January 2019, Will announced he was a free agent again.
After PFL
Will continued his fighting career after the PFL. He faced Gleison Tibau in July 2019 and lost by submission. In March 2020, he signed with ARES FC.
He then had a series of wins:
- He beat Steven Siler by unanimous decision in July 2021.
- He beat Jose Filho by submission in October 2021.
- He won against Rafael Bastos by TKO due to a leg injury in April 2022.
- He beat Luis Peña by split decision in July 2022.
- He won against Jhonasky Sojo by submission in April 2023.
In June 2023, Will Brooks fought Predrag Bogdanović. This fight was for both the Titan FC Welterweight Championship and the SBC Welterweight Championship. Will won the fight by technical knockout in the fifth round. This made him a two-division champion.
Global Fight League
On December 11, 2024, it was announced that Will Brooks signed with the Global Fight League.
Personal Life
Will Brooks is married and has 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
- Bellator Lightweight Championship (One time; former)
- Titan Fighting Championship
- Titan FC Welterweight Championship (One time, current)
- Serbian Battle Championship
- SBC Welterweight Championship (One time, current)
Mixed Martial Arts Record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 32 matches | 26 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 2 |
| By submission | 6 | 3 |
| By decision | 13 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 26–5–1 | Predrag Bogdanović | TKO (elbows and punches) | Titan FC 82 / SBC 47 | June 2, 2023 | 5 | 3:24 | Novi Sad, Serbia | Won the vacant SBC and Titan FC Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 25–5–1 | Jhonasky Sojo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Titan FC 81 | April 14, 2023 | 3 | 3:17 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | |
| Win | 24–5–1 | Luis Peña | Decision (split) | XMMA 5 | July 23, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Columbia, South Carolina, United States | Catchweight (160 lb) bout. |
| Win | 23–5–1 | Rafael Bastos | TKO (leg injury) | Art of Scrap 4 | April 15, 2022 | 1 | 0:19 | Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States | Catchweight (160 lb) bout. |
| Win | 22–5–1 | Jose Filho | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Art of Scrap 3 | October 30, 2021 | 3 | 4:54 | Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States | Catchweight (160 lb) bout. |
| Win | 21–5–1 | Steven Siler | Decision (unanimous) | XMMA 2: Saunders vs. Nijem | July 30, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Greenville, South Carolina, United States | |
| Loss | 20–5–1 | Gleison Tibau | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | Battlefield FC 2 | July 27, 2019 | 1 | 3:34 | Macau, SAR, China | |
| Draw | 20–4–1 | Rashid Magomedov | Draw (unanimous) | PFL 9 | October 13, 2018 | 2 | 5:00 | Long Beach, California, United States | 2018 PFL Lightweight Quarterfinal bout. Eliminated via first round tiebreaker. |
| Win | 20–4 | Robert Watley | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 5 | August 2, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Uniondale, New York, United States | |
| Win | 19–4 | Luiz Firmino | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 2 | June 21, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Loss | 18–4 | Nik Lentz | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura | November 19, 2017 | 2 | 2:05 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Loss | 18–3 | Charles Oliveira | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 210 | April 8, 2017 | 1 | 2:30 | Buffalo, New York, United States | |
| Loss | 18–2 | Alex Oliveira | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson | October 1, 2016 | 3 | 3:30 | Portland, Oregon, United States | Catchweight (161.5 lbs) bout; Oliveira missed weight. |
| Win | 18–1 | Ross Pearson | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia Finale | July 8, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 17–1 | Marcin Held | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 145 | November 6, 2015 | 5 | 5:00 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | Defended the Bellator Lightweight World Championship. Brooks vacated the title on May 14, 2016. |
| Win | 16–1 | Dave Jansen | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 136 | April 10, 2015 | 5 | 5:00 | Irvine, California, United States | Defended the Bellator Lightweight World Championship. |
| Win | 15–1 | Michael Chandler | TKO (punches) | Bellator 131 | November 15, 2014 | 4 | 3:48 | San Diego, California, United States | Won the vacant Bellator Lightweight World Championship. |
| Win | 14–1 | Michael Chandler | Decision (split) | Bellator 120 | May 17, 2014 | 5 | 5:00 | Southaven, Mississippi, United States | Won the interim Bellator Lightweight World Championship. |
| Win | 13–1 | Alexander Sarnavskiy | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 109 | November 22, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States | Won the Bellator Season 9 Lightweight Tournament. |
| Win | 12–1 | Saad Awad | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 105 | October 25, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | Bellator Season 9 Lightweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 11–1 | John Alessio | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 101 | September 27, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Portland, Oregon, United States | Bellator Season 9 Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 10–1 | Cris Leyva | TKO (punches) | Bellator 97 | July 31, 2013 | 3 | 2:20 | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Saad Awad | KO (punches) | Bellator 91 | February 28, 2013 | 1 | 0:43 | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | Bellator Season 8 Lightweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 9–0 | Ricardo Tirloni | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 87 | January 31, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States | Bellator Season 8 Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 8–0 | Satoru Kitaoka | TKO (punches) | DREAM 18 | December 31, 2012 | 2 | 3:46 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 7–0 | Drew Dober | Decision (unanimous) | Disorderly Conduct: The Yin & The Yang | August 10, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Omaha, Nebraska, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Tory Bogguess | TKO (punches) | XFO 44 | June 16, 2012 | 1 | 4:20 | Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Ryan Bixler | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Chicago Cagefighting Championship IV | October 15, 2011 | 2 | 1:00 | Villa Park, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Joseph Richardson | Submission (armbar) | XFO 41 | September 3, 2011 | 1 | 3:49 | Island Lake, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Bobby Reardanz | Submission (armbar) | XFO 39 | May 13, 2011 | 3 | 3:22 | Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Guillermo Serment | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Chicago Cagefighting Championship III | March 5, 2011 | 2 | 0:45 | Villa Park, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | J.R. Hines | TKO (punches) | XFO 38 | January 22, 2011 | 1 | 2:09 | Woodstock, Illinois, United States |
See also
In Spanish: Will Brooks para niños
- List of Bellator MMA alumni
- List of current mixed martial arts champions
- List of male mixed martial artists
