Only fighter to beat Will Brooks in Bellator unsurprised by ex-champ's UFC struggles

Sometimes it is better to be the big fish in a small pond, and Will Brooks has learned that the hard way over his past two fights.

After a successful UFC debut against Ross Pearson at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale this past July, former Bellator champ Brooks (19-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has dropped his past two fights with a TKO defeat to Alex Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 96 this pastOctober and a first-round submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 210 earlier this month.

Although Brooks still is No. 15 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, he’s slipped from the top-10 position he held while going 9-1 under the Bellator banner.

Saad Awad

Saad Awad is the only fighter who beat Brooks prior to his UFC tenure, and he said he’s not shocked by Brooks’ struggles.

“I’m not really surprised,” Awad told MMAjunkie. “I think in Bellator, guys probably respected him too much because he was the champ. I think going in there and fighting, he doesn’t get that, ‘Oh (expletive), it’s the champ’ and people would allow him to compete at his full potential.”

Awad (19-9 MMA, 7-6 BMMA), who meets Ryan Quinn (13-6-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) on Friday’s Spike-televised Bellator 178 main card at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., handed Brooks his first career loss at Bellator 91 in February 2013 with a 43-second knockout. That prompted Brooks to go on a run of eight consecutive victories, including a unanimous decision over Awad in the rematch at Bellator 105, and set up his move over to the UFC.

The UFC’s lightweight division arguably is the deepest weight class in the sport across any organization, and Awad said that’s the genesis of Brooks’ recent setbacks. In Bellator, he was the top dog, but in the UFC he’s surrounded by numerous other top dogs who could hand him a loss on any given night.

Awad believes Brooks can get back on track in his next fight, but believes he must prepare more diligently if he wants to avoid a third consecutive loss.

“When he went over there, he’s just another fighter and people don’t respect him as much and that’s why he’s having more trouble,” Awad said. “He’s a really good fighter and I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He lost to a jiu-jitsu guy who could catch anybody. He didn’t respect the jiu-jitsu and wasn’t afraid of it and that’s what happened.”

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