News of Will Brooks’ release from the UFC garnered mixed reactions from the MMA community.

The former Bellator lightweight champion made waves when he announced he would be signing with the world's premier MMA organization back in 2016, but unfortunately, things didn't work out inside the Octagon for the Chicago native. Now he's off to The Professional Fighter's League (PFL). 

After Brooks lost three fights in a row, all via finish, the UFC had to make a decision regarding his future with the organization.

“[I] didn't do the job that I was supposed to do, and it came down to a situation where Sean Shelby was working with my manager and he was working very hard to find me another fight and give me a bounce-back fight,” Brooks told FloCombat. “Things didn't work out the way we planned. He gave us the option to go out and seek other employment, and if we found something we'd be able to come back and either wait for him to find us something or request our release and move on to other things. 

“That's pretty much what we did. He continued to look for a fight. We just found something that worked better than just sitting around waiting. We decided to go that route and requested our release. They—they being Sean Shelby, Dana White, and the UFC—granted my release.”

Photo Credit: Christopher Hyde-USA TODAY Sports

Brooks’ run of bad luck started back in 2016 when he was controversially knocked out against Alex Oliveira. His two fights in 2017 then saw him get submitted by Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz.

“I can sit here and make a lot of excuses, but I'm not that kind of guy,” Brooks said. “I take full responsibility for the way things went. I didn't get the job done. I didn't do the things I needed to do in the gym. I didn't make the right times, the right sacrifices, have the right focus and the right balance between making sure I'm in the gym and making sure I'm doing what I need to do. 

"I didn't get it done. That's the end of it. I fought talented guys. They were very hungry and very talented in different aspects of MMA. Physically and mentally, I thought I was ready to go and compete against these guys... I moved forward, you swallow that bitter pill, move forward, and just continue to fight.”

Although his run in the UFC is over for now, Brooks refuses to close the door on a potential return, saying he could bounce back strong and end up back inside the eight-walled cage. 

“It's a possibility [that I return to the UFC],” Brooks said. “This is just one chapter in my book. There [are] multiple chapters in peoples' books. I think sometimes we see something like this and automatically assume that it's the end when really it's just the end of that chapter. There [have] been plenty of times when fighters have left the UFC, gone and done some other things, grown, and come back and become champions. 

“A fantastic example is Robbie Lawler who for a long time was a very good friend of mine, and still is a friend of mine, and a teammate, former teammate at American Top Team. Look at what he did. He left the UFC at a young age and he came back and became a champion—a great champion at that."

Now moving on to that next chapter, Brooks has signed with PFL to compete in the promotion’s lightweight tournament. Even more intriguing than a fresh start? The winner of the tournament takes home a cool $1 million. 

“It was just one of those things where the timing and everything just kind of worked out well,” Brooks said. “I tried my best to focus on what I can control and let my manager do the same. I let God control everything else. I think God created the timing and he put all of it in the right time and the right place and it all came together.”

The tournament itself is a strange one. When the organization formerly known as World Series of Fighting decided to rebrand itself, it also opted to change its format to that of a more traditional sports league, like the NBA. 

The result is a more defined structure, in which winners face winners, the next steps are clearly outlined, and politics are limited. 

“It's similar to the way Bellator did their tournaments,” Brooks said. “It's more of a professional league. You have your regular season, you have your playoffs, and then you have your finals, which is your championship fight. They're going to be running two weight classes each time in the tournament. June 7 will be featherweight and welterweight. June 21 will be the start of the lightweight and the light heavyweight, and then they'll continue on in that fashion. 

"They're going to get the regular season and the playoffs done between June and August and be ready for the championship finals in December, December 31. That's the quick summary, the breakdown version that I have."

Brooks expects to return to the cage early in the summer—just in time for the tournament.

“I believe I'll be back June 21, because that's when the lightweight tournament starts,” Brooks said. “I don't know if I'll be there June 21 that day or if I'll be there another day on the brackets. My feeling is I'll be there either June or July.”