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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins hasn't fought since his season win last December, having been pulled out of a couple of planned fights this year due to injury.
He's now got a return date set, but it won't be in the division in which he competed for his season of the reality show. Following in the footsteps of a number of season winners for the show, including Diego Sanchez and Rashad Evans from the first two seasons, Brookins will be dropping a weight class for his next fight in the Octagon.
"I'm going to drop down to the 145-pound division," Brookins said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "There, I think I can make the most fireworks. There are a lot of great fights there.
"I do kind of want to go after [Mark] Hominick and Aldo and those guys – not in a malicious way ... but those are the guys who really spark my interest."
Brookins will be returning on Sept. 17 at the UFC Fight Night 25 event - being billed as the "Battle on the Bayou" in a promoted effort with Bud Light - though no opponent has yet been chosen for him.
He has fought at featherweight before, and in fact faced off against current Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo at a WEC event in 2008, an opponent Brookins says was the most difficult he's faced.
"He's definitely the best opponent I've fought for sure," Brookins said. "He did a super number on me. He just tore apart my legs. I get hurt fighting and stuff, but I never fought anybody who felt like they were fighting with weapons. I think he needs to get checked for some type of adamantium, some Wolverine-type bones or something."
While Brookins would certainly like a rematch with Aldo, he believes he's got a lot of improving to do before he faces the Champ again.
"Lord willing, if I ever get the chance to have that match again, I'd have to be a completely different fighter, even better than the one I am today," he said. "Even the me today would do better, but not so much better. [Aldo] still has a lot in the arsenal."
Penick's Analysis: Brookins will fare better in the featherweight division, he's got height and reach to work to his advantage, and as he continues to improve his overall game it will be a better weight division for him to advance in. It's good he realizes he's got improvements still to be made before getting to the top of that ladder, and being mindful of shortfalls will allow him to get better in those areas. He can have more success in a lot shorter time in the featherweight division, and it will be a good move for him in the long run as well.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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