Will Brooks and Eddie Alvarez were once two parts of an extremely talented triumvirate atop the Bellator MMA lightweight division, along with Michael Chandler.
Alvarez beat Chandler to win the title in 2013, but left Bellator for the UFC before he could defend it. Brooks won the interim belt while Alvarez was in limbo and then became undisputed champion with his second victory over Chandler in 2014.
Not being able to fight and beat Alvarez to win the title still irks Brooks to this day.
"I wanted to fight that guy before he left Bellator," Brooks told MMA Fighting in a recent interview.