The 28-year-old Warsaw, Indiana, native will make his latest organizational debut when he confronts Lito Adiwang in the One Championship “NextGen 3” main event on Nov. 26 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Brooks enters the cage undefeated (3-0 with one no contest) across his previous four appearances. He last appeared under the Bellator MMA banner in December 2019, when he was awarded a three-round unanimous decision over Haruo Ochi at Bellator 237.
As Brooks approaches his battle with Adiwang, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. He was forged inside a common crucible.
Wrestling provided Brooks with his indoctrination into martial arts. He compiled a ridiculous 139-6 record at Warsaw High School in Indiana, winning a state championship as a senior in 2012 with a perfect 35-0 record. Brooks still ranks fifth on the school’s all-time wins list. He continued his career at the Indiana Institute of Technology and Notre Dame College before deciding to pursue mixed martial arts as a vocation.
2. He has led a vagabond’s existence.
Brooks has competed in 15 different promotions in just 19 appearances as a professional mixed martial artist, including Bellator, Rizin Fighting Federation, Pancrase and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He went 2-2 across four assignments in the UFC, his wins over Eric Shelton and Roberto Sanchez sandwiched around losses to Deiveson Figueiredo and Jose Torres.
3. Titles are not altogether foreign to him.
“The Monkey God” captured the House of Fame flyweight championship at House of Fame 4, where he took a unanimous decision from Abdiel Velasquez on Oct. 29, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida.
4. Judges tend to admire his work.
Brooks sports an 8-1 record in bouts that have gone the distance. The lone exception? His split decision defeat to the aforementioned Figueiredo—a man who went on to become undisputed UFC flyweight champion—at UFC Fight Night 119 in October 2017.
5. He carries transformative qualities.
The Mash Fight Team representative has taken the have-skills-will-travel approach to his career. Brooks has fought in three different divisions: strawweight, flyweight and bantamweight.