Will Brooks and Eddie Alvarez have a handful of things in common. Both are former Bellator MMA lightweight champions, and both have jumped ship over to the UFC -- Alvarez two years ago and Brooks last month. Brooks and Alvarez never fought each other under the Bellator MMA banner, as Alvarez was injured and then left the organization around the time "Ill" won the title.
Both were victorious in their respective fights during the string of International Fight Week 2016 events, with Alvarez capturing UFC gold in an upset TKO of Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC Fight Night 90 on Thursday and Brooks beating Ross Pearson in his debut on the main card of the TUF 23 Finale on Friday.