Will Brooks Accepts Blame for Poor UFC Showing, Excited for Rebirth in PFL
Will Brooks will be the first to admit that the has no one to blame for his downfall in the UFC but himself.
After leaving Bellator while still holding the lightweight title, Brooks joined the UFC roster as a high profile signing with hopes of continuing his reign of successful performances inside the Octagon.
At that point, Brooks had won eight fights in a row including a pair of victories over Michael Chandler, who has been routinely viewed as one of the best lightweight fighters in the world.
Brooks earned a hard fought victory in his UFC debut but then proceeded to lose his next three fights — all by knockout or submission — which led to his exit from the promotion.
Looking back now, Brooks doesn't have to think very hard when pinpointing what went wrong because he knows most of the issues he faced in the UFC were self-inflicted.
"If I'm being honest about some of the process I went through with my previous training camps preparing for fights, I was cutting corners," Brooks told MMAWeekly on Monday. "I was putting a lot of my energy into being an at home dad, being the best husband I could be, being the best parent I could be and laying that foundation and I put a lot of energy into that.
"I was neglecting what I needed to do in the gym."
Recommended Articles
Following his exit from the UFC, Brooks wasn't exactly sure what would come next but he soon received a call from the Professional Fighters League offering him a spot in their upcoming $1 million lightweight tournament.
After such an abysmal showing in the UFC, Brooks needed a fresh start and he feels like finding the PFL was a gift from above.
"I'm very excited for this opportunity. I'm really getting deeper in my faith recently and I've just been praying on a lot of things and taking those last three losses and I was in a really dark place trying to find answers," Brooks explained. "I realized that I didn't have the answers so I just started praying and asking for help and I truly believe my Lord and my savior put me in a position where he's like 'he's finally given over control so I'm going to bless him with a great opportunity' and all of a sudden Professional Fighters League pops up. They're kind of in this process of a rebirth and a rebuilding phase and I'm in that same mindset right now.
"It just made sense. I'm just so excited and really motivated to get back in here and represent the Professional Fighters League at the highest level possible."
When looking at the opportunity in front of him, Brooks doesn't want to just look at the PFL as a second chance but rather a true restart for his career.
Brooks knows he can't go back to the guy who beat Chandler and he's not going to be the fighter who dropped three in a row in the UFC. Instead, Brooks knows that deep down he's still carrying around the scars from all of those fights and now he's just adding new layers that will make him even better this time around.
"There's no getting back to any of that cause I'm still that guy. It's just about getting out there, doing the work and not cutting corners," Brooks said.
"So getting back to something, I am who I am. I'm one of the best lightweights in the world. I'm still considered that. I'm a champion caliber fighter and that's what I am. It's just me being mentally there and where I need to be for the fight."
Brooks faces Luiz Furmino in the main event of PFL 2 this Thursday night on the NBC Sports Network
