Will Brooks Says Eddie Alvarez Can’t Run From Him

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Will Brooks spoke about almost fighting Eddie Alvarez. Alvarez won the lightweight title against Michael Chandler in 2013, but left for the UFC before defending it. Brooks won the interim title while Alvarez’ status was in doubt, then beat Chandler in 2014 to become the unified champion. Here are highlights:

On not fighting Alvarez: “I wanted to fight that guy before he left Bellator. And I’m not gonna talk too much about Bellator because that’s the past and I’m moving forward. But I still don’t feel validated because he was the champion and he left and I didn’t get the opportunity to beat the champion to become the champion. I had to turn around and beat up his leftovers. Michael Chandler, I had to beat him up twice just to feel somewhat validated. That felt good to me.”

On wanting to fight Alvarez now that he’s in UFC too: “I told Eddie before, I told people before. He’s on my list. He got out of that ass whooping that one time. He can’t run this time. Where else is he gonna go? Is he gonna go back to Bellator, go somewhere else? Man, he can’t run.”

On comparing himself to Alvarez: “I can’t measure myself based off of what Alvarez has done. We’re all different individuals. Regardless of what you did in the other organization, what he does at the end of the day means nothing for me. I’m coming in 0-0. In my mind, I’m coming in 0-0. I’m a brand-new guy. I’m a fresh new face. I’m green as can be.”