Will Brooks leaves Bellator behind for UFC debut

Former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks is already feeling at home in his new surroundings as he prepares for his UFC debut Friday night.

Brooks, who vacated his title to sign a free-agent deal with the UFC last month, doesn’t expect to be impacted by the notorious “UFC jitters” when he steps into the cage against Ross Pearson on the main card of “The Ultimate Fighter” 23 Finale at the MGM Grand Garden.

In fact, the 29-year-old doesn’t even believe the popular theory about debuting fighters feeling overwhelmed by a rush of nerves when they step into the cage.

“There’s no such thing,” he said. “It’s preparation. You make sure

you’re ready to go with anything in life whether you’re a fighter, a reporter, anything. When you woke up this morning and knew you were coming here, you thought about it and figured out what questions you were going to ask, right? To me, I knew I’d be in the UFC at some point, so I was preparing myself. I built myself up in my last organization and got comfortable being the champion there, and now I’ve moved forward.

“I’m ready to be here.”

He certainly has the resume to support that notion.

The Chicago native, who trains with American Top Team in South Florida, has won eight straight fights since his only career loss, a 43-second knockout delivered by Saad Awad in 2013 that he avenged that year.

Though his impressive winning streak has flown under the radar as he competed outside the UFC, the former junior college football player said he felt comfortable going through the motions of his first major open workout session Tuesday for fans and media on the casino floor of the MGM Grand.

“This feels nice,” he said. “I’m excited. My coaches had to slow me down because people started cheering for me and I just got crazy. This is amazing, with all these cameras and all these questions in this setting. It’s awesome. I love this. I’m built for this.”

Pearson, a hard-hitting veteran who is 4-4 in his past eight fights, is not exactly whom Brooks thought he would be facing in his UFC debut.

Though Pearson presents a challenge, Brooks wanted a contender immediately. But he also wanted to fight immediately, and there wasn’t a logical opponent available, so he jumped at the chance when the bout was offered.

“I’m not here to just hang out and look around for a bit,” he said. “I believe I’m a championship-caliber fighter. I could have sat around and wait to see what happens, but I’m a competitor. I’ll do what I have to do, do my thing and move forward to get where I need to be.”

Pearson expressed concern that Brooks will approach the fight conservatively and try to outpoint him, as evidenced by his six decision victories in his past seven fights.

Brooks was unapologetic about his style.

“A lot of guys have forgotten this is mixed martial arts,” he said. “This is not some stand-and-bag, rock-’em, sock-’em contest. You’re training to beat everybody in every aspect of the sport. It’s something I’ve trained very hard to do. I feel like I’m constantly thinking and adapting at all times. If I have to stick-and-move and get out, I’ll play that game. If you don’t like it, you should have trained to beat it.”

His biggest concern is getting back in action. Brooks hasn’t fought since retaining his Bellator title with a unanimous decision over Marcin Held in November.

He doesn’t plan on trying to make up for lost time or looking to make a big splash before all the new viewers.

“There’s no proving,” he said. “I’ve already shown what I’m capable of, and I think people recognize that. This is just an opportunity to show I have more layers. I have another level I can go to.”

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj