Brooks took up wrestling at Warren Township High School, but his main focus was playing football. Excelling in football during high school, he ended up going to college to play at Harper College, in Palatine. At Harper, he met an old friend from high school in Nick Redding, who ended up changing the course of his life to MMA.
MMA career
Early career
Brooks made his professional MMA debut in January 2011. He competed exclusively in his native Illinois and quickly amassed an undefeated record of 7-0 in the first two years of his career.
DREAM
In late 2012, Brooks received the biggest opportunity of his career as he was invited to Japan by the DREAM organization. He faced experienced veteran Satoru Kitaoka at Dream 18 on December 31, 2012. Despite being a heavy underdog, Brooks dominated the fight and won via TKO in the second round.
Following his impressive international debut, Brooks was quickly signed by Bellator Fighting Championships in January 2013. For his debut, Brooks was entered into the. He faced Ricardo Tirloni in the opening round at and won the fight via unanimous decision. He faced Saad Awad in the semi-finals and lost via KO in the first round. Following the first loss of his career, Brooks rebounded with a win over Cris Leyva at on July 31, 2013. In the fall of 2013, Brooks entered into the Bellator Season 9 Lightweight tournament. He faced veteran John Alessio in the Quarterfinals on September 27, 2103, at. He won the fight in dominant fashion via unanimous decision. Brooks had a rematch with Saad Awad in the semifinal round and dominated the fight for all three rounds, winning a unanimous decision victory. Brooks faced Alexander Sarnavskiy in the finals. He won the fight via dominant unanimous decision to earn a future title shot at the Lightweight title. On May 17, 2014, Brooks faced Michael Chandler filling in for the injured champ Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 120 for the Interim Bellator Lightweight Championship. He won via split decision to become the Interim Bellator Lightweight Championship. With Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez leaving the promotion, Brooks faced Michael Chandler in a rematch at Bellator 131 on November 15, 2014, for the vacant Bellator Lightweight Championship. He won the fight via TKO in the fourth round to become the undisputed Bellator Lightweight Champion. Brooks made his first title defense against long-awaited challenger Dave Jansen at Bellator 136 on April 10, 2015. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Brooks made his second defense against Marcin Held on November 6, 2015, at Bellator 145. Despite Held popping Brooks' knee in the opening round, Brooks continued on and won the fight via unanimous decision to retain the Bellator Lightweight Championship. On May 14, 2016, Brooks was granted his release from Bellator MMA, vacating his lightweight championship.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On June 15, 2016, it was announced that Brooks had signed a six-fight deal with the UFC. He made his promotional debut against Ross Pearson on July 8, 2016, at. Brooks won the fight by unanimous decision. Brooks next faced Alex Oliveira on October 1, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 96. The bout took place at a catchweight of 161.5 lbs, as Oliveira missed weight. Brooks lost the fight via KO in the third round. Brooks faced Charles Oliveira on April 8, 2017, at UFC 210. He lost the fight by rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Brooks was scheduled to face Nik Lentz on October 7, 2017, at UFC 216. However the pairing was scrapped during the weigh-ins for the event, as Lentz was stricken with "medical issues" and deemed unfit to compete. The pairing with Lentz was rescheduled and eventually took take place on November 19, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 121. Brooks lost the fight via submission in the second round.
Professional Fighters League
On February 14, 2018, Brooks announced via social media that he had been released by the promotion and had signed with the Professional Fighters League. He also stated that he would be entering the promotion's one million dollar tournament. In his debut, Brooks faced Luiz Firmino at PFL 2 on June 21, 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In his second fight in the Lightweight tournament, Brooks faced Robert Watley on August 2, 2018, at PFL 5. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In the end of January 2019, Brooks announced in social media that he became a free agent after the inaugural season of PFL.
Post-PFL career
Brooks was expected to face Abel Trujillo at Battlefield FC 2 on July 27, 2019, but Trujillo was withdrawn from the bout and was replaced by Brooks' teammate Gleison Tibau. He lost the fight via first-round submission. On March 30, 2020, news surfaced that Brooks had signed a contract with ARES FC.
