https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEF5ONNsyPo Weight Class: Lightweight Ill Will Brooks might not have made this list a few months ago. He was good, but was he really that good? Then Eddie Alvarez went down to injury, suffering a concussion leading up to his PPV trilogy match with Michael Chandler. Rampage Jackson vs. King Mo was thrust into the spotlight as the headliner, and Brooks was bumped up to co-main event status with ex-champion Chandler, for the interim lightweight title. Coming into the Chandler bout, Brooks had won Bellator season nine's lightweight tournament, and in doing so had picked up a win over former UFC fighter (and one-time UFC title challenger) John Alesssio. Still, Brooks was somewhat unproven, as the two biggest lightweight names in Bellator were not in the tournament: Alvarez and Chandler. Then Brooks upset Michael Chandler live on Pay-Per-View in the biggest match of his career, and it became apparent that Brooks was a damn good fighter who could roll with the best either promotion had to offer. And he's now got the (interim) gold to prove it.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.